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S      B.  LE  FEVRE.       No.  s 

s  s 


FROM   THE   LIBRARY   OF 
REV.    LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,   D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED    BY    HIM   TO 

THE    LIBRARY   OF 

PRINCETON   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY 

i  zcxr       I 


swmfy 


*&om™  RFHtft 


A  SEP  26 1936 

Somen  & 
OOLUMBIAD 

A  POEM, 

J3Y  JOEL  BARLOW 

IX  TWO  VOLUMES. 


Tu  spiegherai,  Colombo,  a  un  novo  poI<> 
Lontane  si  le  fortunate  antenne, 
Oh'a  pena  seguira  con  gli  occhi  il  volo 
La  Fama,  eh'  ha  mille  occhi  e  mille  pennc 
Canti  ella  Aleide,  e  Bacco;  e  di  te  solo 
Basti  a  i  posteri  tuoi,  ch'  alquanta  accenne- 
Che  quel  poco  dara  lunga  memoria 
©i  poema  degnissima,  e  d'istoria. 

Gierus,  Lib.. Can,  xr 


VOL.  I. 


PHILADELPHIA. 

V     lisked  by  C.  and  A.  Conrad  and  Co.  Philadelphia;  Con 

Lucas  and  Co.  Baltimore. 

Fry  and  Kammerer,  Printer? 
1809. 


#" 


District  or  Pennsylvania,  to  wit: 
*******       BE  IT  REMEMBERED,  That  on  the  twe. 

*  SEAL.*   day  of  December,  in  the  thirty-second  year  of  the  inde- 

*  *   pendence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  A.  D.  1807, 

C.  and  A.  Conrad  and  Co.  of  the  said  district,  have  de- 
posited in  this  office  the  title  of  a  book  the  right  whereof  they  claim 
as  proprietors  in  the  words  following:,  to  wit: 

"THE  COLUMBIAD  A  POEM.  BY  JOEL  BARLOW.'" 

In  conformity  to  the  act  of  the  congress  of  the  United  States,  in- 

d  "An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the 

copies  of  maps,  charts,  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of 

such  copies  during  the  times  therein  mentioned."  And  also  to  the 

act  entitled  "An  act  supplementary  to  an  act  entitled  'An  act  for  the 

encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps,  charts, 

and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies  during  the 

times  therein  mentioned,'  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the 

going*  engraving  and  etching  historical  and  other  prints.'" 

D.  CALDWELL, 

Clerk  of  thf  District  Court. 


PREFACE. 

In  preparing  this  work  for  publication  it  seems 
proper  to  offer  some  observations  explanatory  of  its 
design.  The  classical  reader  will  perceive  the  obsta- 
cles which  necessarily  presented  themselves  in  re- 
.  conciling  the  nature  of  the  subject  with  such  a  man- 
ner of  treating  it  as  should  appear  the  most  poetical, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  most  likely  to  arrive  at  that 
degree  of  dignity  and  usefulness  to  which  it  ought  to 
aspire. 

The  Columbiad  is  a  patriotic  poem;  the  subject  is 
national  and  historical.  Thus  far  it  must  be  interesting 

vy  countrymen.  But  most  of  the  events  were  so 
"recent,  so  important  and  so  well  known,  as  to  render 
them  inflexible  to  the  hand  of  fiction.  The  poem  there- 
fore could  not  with  propriety  be  modelled  after  that 
regular  epic  form  which  the  more  splendid  works 
of  this  kind  have  taken,  and  on  which  their  success 
is  supposed  in  a  great  measure  to  depend.  The  at- 
tempt would  have  been  highly  injudicious;  it  must 
have  diminished  and  debased  a  series  of  actions  which 
vf  ere  really  great  in  themselves  and  could  not  be  dis- 
figured without  losing  their  interest. 


iv  PREFACE, 

I  shall  enter  into  no  discussion  on  the  nature  of 
the  epopea,  nor  attempt  to  prove  by  any  latitude  of 
reasoning  that  I  have  written  an  Epic  Poem.  The  sub- 
ject indeed  is  vast;  far  superior  to  any  one  of  those  on 
which  the  celebrated  poems  of  this  description  have 
been  constructed;  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  the  form 
I  have  given  to  the  work  is  the  best  that  the  subject 
would  admit.  It  may  be  added  that  in  no  poem  are 
the  unities  of  time,  place  and  action  more  rigidly 
observed:  the  action,  in  the  technical  sense  of  the 
word,  consisting  only  of  what  takes  place  between 
Columbus  and  Hesper;  which  must  be  supposed  to 
occupy  but  few  hours,  and  is  confined  to  the  prison 
and  the  mount  of  vision. 

But  these  circumstances  of  classical  regularity 
are  of  little  consideration  in  estimating  the  real  merit 
of  any  work  of  this  nature.  Its  merit  must  depend  on 
the  importance  of  the  action,  the  disposition  of  the 
parts,  the  invention  and  application  of  incidents,  the 
propriety  of  the  illustrations,  the  liveliness  and  chas- 
tity of  the  images,  the  suitable  intervention  of  ma- 
chinery, the  moral  tendency  of  the  manners,  the 
strength  and  sublimity  of  the  sentiments;  the  whole 
being  clothed  in  language  whose  energy,  harmony  and 
elegance  shall  constitute  a  style  every  where  suited  to 
the  matter  they  have  to  treat. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  determine  how  far  I 
may  have  succeeded  in  any  of  these  particulars.  This 
must  be  decided  by  others,  the  result  of  whose  deci- 


PREFACE.  V 

t>rin  I  shall  never  know.  But  there  is  one  point  of  view 
in  which  I  wish  the  reader  to  place  the  character  of  my 
work,  before  he  pronounces  on  its  merit:  I  mean  its 
political  tendency.  There  are  two  distinct  objects  to  be 
kept  in  view  in  the  conduct  of  a  narrative  poem:  the 
poetical  object  and  the  moral  object.  The  poetical 
is  the  fictitious  design  of  the  action;  the  moral  is  the 
real  design  of  the  poem. 

In  the  Iliad  of  Homer  the  poetical  object  is  to 
kindle,  nourish,  sustain  and  allay  the  anger  of  Achil- 
les. This  end  is  constantly  kept  in  view;  and  the 
action  proper  to  attain  it  is  conducted  with  wonder- 
ful judgment  thro  a  long  series  of  incidents,  which 
elevate  the  mind  of  the  reader,  and  excite  not  only  a 
veneration  for  the  creative  powers  of  the  poet,  but 
an  ardent  emulation  of  his  heroes,  a  desire  to  imitate 
and  rival  some  of  the  great  actors  in  the  splendid 
scene;  perhaps  to  endeavor  to  carry  into  real  life  the 
fictions  with  which  we  are  so  much  enchanted. 

Such  a  high  degree  of  interest  excited  by  the  first 
object  above  mentioned,  the  fictitious  design  of  the 
action,  would  make  it  extremely  important  that  the 
second  object,  the  real  design  of  the  poem,  should  be 
beneficial  to  society.  But  the  real  design  in  the  Iliad 
was  directly  the  reverse.  Its  obvious  tendency  was 
to  inflame  the  minds  of  young  readers  with  an  enthu- 
siastic ardor  for  military  fame;  to  inculcate  the  per- 
nicious doctrine  of  the  divine  right  of  kings;  to  teach 
both  prince  and  people  that  military  plunder  was  the 

a  2 


PREFACK 

most  honorable  mode  of  acquiring  property*;  and  that 
conquest,  violence  and  war  were  the  best  employ- 
ment of  nations,  the  most  glorious  prerogative  of 
bodily  strength  and  of  cultivated  mind. 

How  much  of  the  fatal  policy  of  states,  and  of  the 
miseries  and  degradations  of  social  man,  have  been 
occasioned  by  the  false  notions  of  honor  inspired  by 
the  works  of  Homer,  it  is  not  easy  to  ascertain.  The 
probability  is,  that  however  astonishing  they  are  as 
monuments  of  human  intellect,  and  how  long  soever 
they  have  been  the  subject  of  universal  praise,  they 
have  unhappily  done  more  harm  than  good.  My 
veneration  for  his  genius  is  equal  to  that  of  his  most 
idolatrous  readers;  but  my  reflections  on  the  history 
of  human  errors  have  forced  upon  me  the  opinion 
that  his  existence  has  really  proved  one  of  the  signal 
misfortunes  of  mankind. 

The  moral  tendency  of  the  Eneid  of  Virgil  is 
nearly  as  pernicious  as  that  of  the  works  of  Homer. 
Its  poetical  or  fictitious  design,  the  settlement  of  his 
hero  in  Italy,  is  well  delineated  and  steadily  pursued, 
This  object  must  have  been  far  more  interesting  to 
the  Romans  than  the  anger  of  Achilles  could  have 
been  to  the  Greeks.  Had  Virgil  written  his  poem  one 
or  two  centuries  earlier  than  he  did,  while  his  coun- 
trymen felt  that  they  had  a  country  and  were  not 
themselves  the  property  of  a  master,  they  must  have 
glowed   with  enthusiasm   in  reciting    the  fabulous 

adored  the  songster 


PRBFAC  VU 

who  could* have  thus  elevated  so  endearing  a  subject; 
who  could  have  adorned  it  with  such  an  interesting 
variety  of  incidents,  such  weight  of  pathos,  such 
majesty  of  sentiment  and  harmony  of  verse.  But 
Virgil  wrote  and  felt  like  a  subject,  not  like  a  citi- 
zen. The  real  design  of  his  poem  wTas  to  increase 
the  veneration  of  the  people  for  a  master,  whoever 
he  might  be,  and  to  encourage  like  Homer  the  great 
system  of  military  depredation. 

Lucan  is  the  only  republican  among  the  ancient 
epic  poets.  But  the  action  of  his  rambling  tho  ma- 
jestic poem  is  so  badly  arranged  as  to  destroy,  in  a 
poetical  sense,  the  life  and  interest  of  the  great  na- 
tional subject  on  which  it  is  founded;  at  the  same 
time  that  it  abounds  in  the  most  exalted  sentiments 
and  original  views  of  manners,  highly  favorable  to 
the  love  of  justice  and  the  detestation  of  war.  If  a 
mind,  formed  like  that  of  Lucan,  as  to  its  moral  and 
political  cast,  and  endowed  with  the  creative  energy 
of  Homer,  had  sung  to  the  early  Greeks  the  fall  of 
Troy  or  the  labors  of  Hercules,  his  work  (taking  the 
place  which  those  of  Homer  have  unfortunately  oc- 
cupied) as  a  splendid  model  for  all  succeeding  ages, 
would  have  given  a  very  different  turn  to  the  pursuits 
of  heroes  and  the  policy  of  nations.  Ambition  might 
then  have  become  a  useful  passion,  instead  of  a  de- 
structive disease. 

In  the  poem  here  presented  to  the  public  the  ob- 
jects, as  in  other  works  of  the  kind,  are  two:  the  fie- 


viii  preface; 

titious  object  of  the  action  and  the  real  object  of  the 
poem.  The  first  of  these  is  to  sooth  and  satisfy  the 
desponding  mind  of  Columbus;  to  show  him  that  his 
labors,  tho  ill  rewarded  by  his  cotemporaries,  had  not 
been  performed  in  vain;  that  he  had  opened  the  way 
to  the  most  extensive  career  of  civilization  and  pub- 
lic happiness;  and  that  he  would  one  day  be  recog- 
nised as  the  author  of  the  greatest  benefits  to  the 
human  race.  This  object  is  steadily  kept  in  view; 
and  the  actions,  images  and  sentiments  are  so  dis- 
posed as  probably  to  attain  the  end.  But  the  real 
object  of  the  poem  embraces  a  larger  scope:  it  is  to 
inculcate  the  love  of  rational  liberty,  and  to  discoun- 
tenance the  deleterious  passion  for  violence  and  war; 
to  show  that  on  the  basis  of  the  republican  principle 
all  good  morals,  as  well  as  good  government  and 
hopes  of  permanent  peace,  must  be  founded;  and  to 
convince  the  student  in  political  science  that  the  the- 
oretical question  of  the  future  advancement  of  human 
society,  till  states  as  well  as  individuals  arrive  at  uni- 
versal civilization,  is  held  in  dispute  and  still  unset- 
tled only  because  we  have  had  too  little  experience 
of  organized  liberty  in  the  government  of  nations  to 
have  well  considered  its  effects. 

I  cannot  expect  that  every  reader,  nor  even  every 
republican  reader,  will  join  me  in  opinion  with  re- 
spect to  the  future  progress  of  society  and  the  civili- 
zation of  states;  but  there  are  two  sentiments  in  which 
I  think  all  men  will  agree:  that  the  event  is  desirable 


PREFACE.  ix 

and  that  to  believe  it  practicable  is  one  step  towards 
rendering  it  so.  This  being  the  case  they  ought  to 
pardon  a  writer,  if  not  applaud  him,  for  endeavoring 
to  inculcate  this  belief. 

I  have  taken  the  liberty,  notwithstanding  the  re- 
cency of  the  events,  to  make  some  changes  in  the 
order  of  several  of  the  principal  battles  described  in 
this  poem.  I  have  associated  the  actions  of  Starke, 
Herkimer,  Brown  and  Francis  in  the  battle  of  Sara- 
toga, tho  they  happened  at  some  distance  from  that 
battle,  both  as  to  time  and  place.  A  like  circumstance 
will  be  noticed  with  respect  to  Sumter,  Jackson  of 
Georgia  and  some  others  in  the  battle  of  Eutaw.  I 
^iave  supposed  a  citadel  mined  and  blown  up  in  the 
siege  of  York,  and  two  ships  of  war  grappled  and 
blown  up  in  the  naval  battle  of  Degrasse  and  Graves. 
It  is  presumed  that_  these  circumstances  require  no 
apology;  as  in  the  two  latter  cases  the  events  are  inci- 
dental to  such  situations,  and  they  here  serve  the 
principal  purpose,  being  meant  to  increase  our  natu- 
ral horror  for  the  havoc  and  miseries  of  war  in  gene- 
ral. And  with  regard  to  the  two  former  cases  wre 
ought  to  consider  that,  in  the  epic  field,  the  interest 
to  be  excited  by  the  action  cannot  be  sustained  by 
following  the  gazette,  as  Lucan  has  done.  The  de- 
sultory parts  of  the  historical  action  must  be  brought 
together  and  be  made  to  elevate  and  strengthen  each 
other,  so  as  to  press  upon  the  mind  with  the  full  force 
of  their  svmmetrv  and  unity.  Where  the  events  are 


recent  and  the  actors  known,  the  only  duty  imposed  by 
that  circumstance  on  the  poet  is  to  do  them  historical 
justice,  and  not  ascribe  to  one  hero  the  actions  of  an- 
other. But  the  scales  of  justice  in  this  case  are  not 
necessarily  accompanied  by  the  calendar  and  the  map. 

It  will  occur  to  most  of  my  readers  that  the  mo- 
dern modes  of  fighting,  as  likewise  the  instruments 
and  terms  now  used  in  war,  are  not  yet  rendered  fa- 
miliar in  poetical  language.  It  is  doubtless  from  an 
■unwarrantable  timidity,  or  want  of  confidence  in 
their  own  powers  of  description,  that  modern  poets 
have  made  so  little  use  of  this  kind  of  riches  that  lay  | 
before  them.  I  confess  that  I  imbibed  the*common 
prejudice,  and  remained  a  long  time  in  the  error  of., 
supposing  that  the  ancients  had  a  poetical  advantage 
over  us  in  respect  to  the  dignity  of  the  names  of  the 
weapons  used  in  war,  if  not  in  their  number  and  va- 
riety. And  when  I  published  a  sketch  of  the  present 
poem,  under  the  title  of  The  Vision  of  Columbus,  I 
labored  under  the  embarrassment  of  that  idea.  I  am 
now  convinced  that  the  advantage,  at  least  as  to  the 
weapons,  is  on  the  side  of  the  moderns.  There. are 
better  sounding  names  and  more  variety  in  the  in- 
struments, works,  stratagems  and  other  artifices  em- 
ployed in  our  war  system  than  in  theirs.  In  short, 
the  modern  military  dictionary  is  more  copious  than 
the  ancient,  and  the  words  at  least  as  poetical. 

As  to  the  mode  of  fighting,  we  have,  poetically 
speaking,  lost  something  in  one  respect,  but  we  have 


PREFACE.  *i 

gained  much  in  another.  Our  battles  indeed  admit 
but  few  single  combats,  or  trials  of  individual  prow- 
e-ss.  They  do  admit  them  however;  and  it  is  not  im- 
possible to  describe  them  with  as  much  detail  and 
interest  as  the  nature  of  the  action  requires;  as  Vol- 
taire has  proved  in  the  single  combat  of  Aumc.le  and 
Turenne  in  the  Henriad.  Had  he  managed  his  gene- 
ral descriptions  and  the  other  parts  of  the  conduct  of 
his  poem  as  well,  he  would  have  made  it  a  far  more 
interesting  work  than  he  has.  However,  since  our 
single  combats  must  be  insignificant  in  their  conse- 
quences, not  deciding  any  thing  as  to  the  result  of 
the  battle,  it  would  be  inconvenient  and  misplaced 
to  make  much  use  of  them  in  our  descriptions.  And 
here  lies  our  disadvantage,  compared  with  the  an- 
cients. 

But  in  a  general  engagement,  the  shock  of  mo- 
dern armies  is,  beyond  comparison,  more  magnifi- 
cent, more  sonorous  and  more  discoloring  to  the 
face  of  nature,  than  the  ancient  could  have  been;  it 
is  consequently  susceptible  of  more  pomp  and  variety 
of  description.  Our  heaven  and  earth  are  not  only 
shaken  and  tormented  with  greater  noise,  but  filled 
and  suffocated  with  fire  and  smoke.  If  Homer,  with 
his  Grecian  tongue  and  all  its  dialects,  had  had  the 
battle  of  Blenheim  to  describe,  the  world  would  have 
possessed  a  picture  and  a  piece  of  music  which  now 
111  never  possess.  The  description  would  hav^ 


£il  PREFACE. 

astonished  all  apfes,  and  enriched  every  language  into 
which  it  might  have  been  translated. 

With  regard  to  naval  battles  the  moderns  have 
r  the  advantage.  But  there  has  been  no 
&ayal  fttle  described  in  modern  poetry;  neither  is 
there  any  remaining  to  us  from  the  ancients,  except 
that  in  the  bay  of  Marseilles  by  Lucan,  and  that  near 
Syracuse  by  Silius.  It  would  seem  strange  indeed 
that  Homer,  whose  wonderful  powers  of  fiction  were 
not  embarrassed  by  historical  realities,  and  who  in 
other  respects  is  so  insatiable  of  variety,  did  not  in- 
troduce a  sea  fight  either  in  the  defence  of  Troy  or 
in  the  disastrous  voyages  of  Ulysses.  But  the  want 
of  ihis  in  Homer's  two  poems  amounts  almost  to  a 
proof  that  in  his  time  the  nations  had  not  yet  adopted 
any  method  of  fighting  at  sea;  so  that  the  poet  could 
have  no  such  image  in  his  mind. 

The  business  of  war,  with  all  its  varieties,  makes 
but  a  small  part  of  the  subject  of  my  poem;  it  ought 
therefore  to  occupy  but  a  small  portion  of  its  scene- 
ry. This  is  the  reason  why  I  have  not  been  more 
solicitous  to  vary  and  heighten  the  descriptions  of 
battles  and  other  military  operations.  I  make  this 
observation  to  satisfy  those  readers  who  being  accus- 
tomed to  see  a  long  poem  chiefly  occupied  with  this 
sort  of  bustle  conceive  that  the  life  and  interest  of 
such  compositions  depend  upon  it.  How  far  the  ma- 
jesty or  interest  of  epic  song  really  depends  upon  the 
tumultuous  conflicts  of  war  I  will  not  decide;  but  I 


PREFACE.  xiii 

can  assure  the  reader,  so  far  as  my  experience  goes, 
that  these  parts  of  the  work  are  not  the  most  difficult 
to  write.  They  are  scenes  that  exhibit  those  vigorous 
traits  of  human  character  which  strike  the  beholder 
most  forcibly  and  leave  the  deepest  impression.  They 
delight  in  violent  attitudes;  and,  painting  themselves 
in  the  strongest  colors  on  the  poet's  fancy,  they  are 
easy  at  anytime  to  recal.  He  varies  them  at  pleasure, 
he  adorns  them  readily  with  incidents,  and  imparts 
them  with  spirit  to  the  reader. 

My  object  is  altogether  of  a  moral  and  political 
nature.  I  wish  to  encourage  and  strengthen,  in  the 
rising  generation,  a  sense  of  the  importance  of  re- 
publican institutions;  as  being  the  great  foundation 
of  public  and  private  happiness,  the  necessary  aliment 
of  future  and  permanent  meliorations  in  the  condi- 
tion of  human  nature. 

This  is  the  moment  in  America  to  give  such  a 
direction  to  poetry,  painting  and  the  other  fine  arts, 
that  true  and  useful  ideas  of  glory  may  be  implanted 
in  the  minds  of  men  here,  to  take  place  of  the  false 
and  destructive  ones  that  have  degraded  the  species 
in  other  countries;  impressions  which  have  become 
so  wrought  into  their  most  sacred  institutions,  that  i: 
is  there  thought  impious  to  detect  them  and  dange- 
rous to  root  them  out,  tho  acknowledged  to  be  false. 
Wo  be  to  the  republican  principle  and  to  all  the  ir 
tutions  it  supports,  when  once  the  pernicious  doctrn: 
Vol.  I.  h 


XIV  PREFACE. 

of  the  holiness  of  error  shall  creep  into  the  creed  of 
our  schools  and  distort  the  intellect  of  our  citizens. 

The  Columbiad,  in  its  present  form,  is  such  as  I 
shall  probably  leave  it  to  its  fate.  Whether  it  is  des- 
tined to  survive  its  author,  is  a  question  that  gives 
me  no  other  concern  than  what  arises  from  the  most 
pure  and  ardent  desire  of  doing  good  to  my  country. 
To  my  country  therefore,  with  every  sentiment  of 
veneration  and  affection,  I  dedicate  my  labors. 


INTRODUCTION 

Every  circumstance  relating  to  the  discover} 
and  settlement  of  America  is  an  interesting  object  of 
inquiry,  especially  to  the  great  and  growing  nations 
of  this  hemisphere,  who  owe  their  existence  to  those 
arduous  labors.  Yet  it  is  presumed  that  many  persons, 
who  might  be  entertained  with  a  poem  on  this  subject, 
are  but  slightly  acquainted  with  the  life  and  character 
of  the  hero  whose  extraordinary  genius  led  him  to 
discover  the  continent,  and  whose  singular  sufferings, 
arising  from  that  service,  ought  to  excite  the  indigna- 
tion of  the  world. 

Christopher  Columbus  was  born  in  Genoa  about 
the  year  1447,  when  the  navigation  of  Europe  was 
scarcely  extended  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean and  the  other  narrow  seas  that  border  the 
great  ocean.  The  mariner's  compass  had  been  in- 
vented and  in  common  use  for  more  than  a  century; 
yet  with  the  help  of  this  sure  guide,  and  prompted  by 
a  laudable  spirit  of  discovery,  the  mariners  of  those 
days  rarely  ventured  from  the  sight  of  land.    They 

Vol.  I.  A 


2  INTRODUCTION, 

acquired  wonderful  applause  by  sailing  along  the 
coast  of  Africa,  and  discovering  some  of  the  neigh- 
boring islands;  and  after  pushing  their  researches 
with  great  industry  for  half  a  century,  the  Portu- 
guese, who  were  the  most  fortunate  and  enterprising, 
extended  their  voyages  southward  no  further  than  the 
equator. 

The  rich  commodities  of  the  East  had,  for  seve- 
ral* ages,  been  brought  into  Europe  by  the  Red  Sea 
and  the  Mediterranean;  and  it  had  now  become  the 
object  of  the  Portuguese  to  find  a  passage  to  India  by 
sailing  round  the  southern  extremity  of  Africa,  and 
then  taking  an  eastern  course.  This  great  object  en- 
gaged the  general  attention,  and  drew  into  the  Por- 
tuguese service  adventurers  from  the  other  maritime 
nations  of  Europe.  Every  year  added  to  their  expe- 
rience in  navigation,  and  seemed  to  promise  some 
distant  reward  to  their  industry.  The  prospect  how- 
ever of  arriving  at  India  by  that  route  was  still  by  no 
means  encouraging.  Fifty  years'  perseverance  in  the 
same  track  having  brought  them  only  to  the  equator, 
it  was  probable  that  as  many  more  would  elapse  be- 
fore they  could  accomplish  their  purpose* 

But  Columbus,  by  an  uncommon  exertion  of  ge- 
nius, formed  a  design  no  less  astonishing  to  the  age 
in  which  he  lived  than  beneficial  to  posterity.  This 
design  was  to  sail  to  India  by  taking  a  western  direc- 


INTRODUCTION.  <> 

tion.  By  the  accounts  of  travellers  who  had  visited 
that  part  of  Asia,  it  seemed  almost  without  limits  on 
the  east;  and  by  attending  to  the  spherical  figure  of 
the  earth  Columbus  drew  the  natural  conclusion,  that 
the  Atlantic  ocean  must  be  bounded  on  the  west 
either  by  India  itself,  or  by  some  continent  not  far 
distant  from  it. 

This  illustrious  navigator,  who  was  then  about 
twenty  seven  years  of  age,  appears  to  have  possessed 
every  talent  requisite  to  form  and  execute  the  great* 
est  enterprises.  He  was  early  educated  in  such  of  the 
useful  sciences  as  were  taught  in  that  day.  He  had 
made  great  proficiency  in  geography,  astronomy  and 
drawing,  as  they  were  necessary  to  his  favorite  pur- 
suit of  navigation.  He  had  been  a  number  of  years  in 
the  service  of  the  Portuguese,  and  had  acquired  all  the 
experience  that  their  vovages  and  discoveries  could 
afford.  His  courage  had  been  put  to  the  severest  test; 
and  the  exercise  of  every  amiable  as  well  as  heroic 
virtue,  the  kindred  qualities  of  a  great  mind,  had  se- 
cured him  an  extensive  reputation.  He  had  married 
a  Portuguese  lady,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  Diego 
and  Ferdinand;  the  younger  of  these  is  the  historian 
of  his  father's  life. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  Columbus,  wrhen  he 
formed  and  digested  a  plan,  which,  in  its  operation 
and  consequences,  has  unfolded  to  the  view  of  man- 


4  INTRODUCTION, 

kind  one  half  of  the  globe,  diffused  wealth  and  indus- 
try over  the  other  and  is  extending  commerce  and 
civilization  thro  the  whole.  To  corroborate  the  the- 
ory he  had  formed  of  the  existence  of  a  western  con- 
tinent, his  discerning  mind,  which  knew  the  applica- 
tion of  every  circumstance  that  fell  in  his  way,  had 
observed  several  facts  which  by  others  would  have 
passed  unnoticed.  In  his  voyages  to  the  African 
islands  he  had  found,  floating  ashore  after  a  long  west- 
ern storm,  pieces  of  wood  carved  in  a  curious  manner, 
canes  of  a  size  unknown  in  that  quarter  of  the  world, 
and  human  bodies  with  very  singular  features. 

The  opinion  being  well  established  in  his  mind 
that  a  considerable  portion  of  the  earth  still  remained 
to  be  discovered,  his  temper  was  too  vigorous  and 
persevering  to  suffer  an  idea  of  this  importance  to 
rest  merely  in  speculation,  as  it  had  done  with  Plato 
and  Seneca,  who  seem  to  have  entertained  conjec- 
tures of  a  similar  nature.  He  determined  therefore 
to  bring  his  theory  to  the  test  of  experiment.  But  an 
object  of  that  magnitude  required  the  patronage  of  a 
prince;  and  a  design  so  extraordinary  met  with  all  the 
obstructions  that  an  age  of  superstition  could  invent, 
and  personal  jealousy  enhance. 

It  is  happy  for  mankind  that,  in  this  instance,  a 
genius  capable  of  devising  the  greatest  undertakings 
associated  in  itself  a  degree  of  patience  and  enterprise, 


INTRODUCTION  0 

modesty  and  confidence,  which  rendered  him  supe- 
rior to  these  misfortunes,  and  enabled  him  to  meet 
with  fortitude  all  the  future  calamities  of  his  life. 
Excited  by  an  ardent  enthusiasm  to  become  a  disco- 
verer of  new  countries,  and  fully  sensible  of  the  ad- 
vantages that  would  result  to  mankind  from  such 
discoveries,  he  had  the  cruel  mortification  to  wear 
away  eighteen  vears  of  his  life,  after  his  system  was 
well  established  in  his  own  mind,  before  he  could 
obtain  the  means  of  executing  his  projected  voyage. 
The  greatest  part  of  this  period  was  spent  in  succes- 
sive solicitations  in  Genoa,  Portugal  and  Spain. 

,  As  a  duty  to  his  native  country  he  made  his  first 
proposal  to  the  senate  of  Genoa,  where  it  was  soon 
rejected.  Conscious  of  the  truth  of  his  theory,  and  of 
his  own  abilities  to  execute  his  plan,  he  retired  with- 
out dejection  from  a  body  of  men  who  were  incapa- 
ble of  forming  any  just  ideas  upon  the  subject,  and 
applied  with  fresh  confidence  to  John  Second,  king  of 
Portugal;  who  had  distinguished  himself  as  the  great 
patron  of  navigation,  and  in  whose  service  Columbus 
had  acquired  a  reputation  which  entitled  him  and  his 
project  to  general  confidence.  But  here  he  experi- 
enced a  treatment  much  more  insulting  than  a  direct 
refusal.  After  referring  the  examination  of  his  scheme 
to  the  council  who  had  the  direction  of  naval  affairs, 
and  drawing  from  him  his  general  ideas  of  the  length 

A2 


6  INTRODUCTION". 

of  the  voyage  and  the  course  he  meant  to  take,  that 
splendid  monarch  had  the  meanness  to  conspire  with 
this  council  to  rob  Columbus  of  the  glory  and  advan- 
tage he  expected  to  derive  from  his  undertaking. 
While  Columbus  was  amused  with  the  negotiation, 
in  hopes  of  having  his  scheme  adopted,  a  vessel  was 
secretly  despatched  by  order  of  the  king  to  make  the 
intended  discovery.  Want  of  skill  or  courage  in  the 
pilot  rendered  the  plot  unsuccessful;  and  Columbus, 
on  discovering  the  treachery,  retired  with  an  ingenu- 
ous indignation  from  a  court  which  could  be  capable 
of  such  duplicity. 

Having  now  performed  what  was  due  to  the  coun- 
try  that  gave  him  birth,  and  to  the  one  that  had  adopt- 
ed him  as  a  subject,  he  was  at  liberty  to  court  the  pa- 
tronage of  any  other  which  should  have  the  wisdom  to 
accept  his  proposals.  He  had  communicated  his  ideas 
to  his  brother  Bartholomew,  whom  he  sent  to  Eng- 
land to  negotiate  with  Henry  Seventh;  at  the  same 
time  he  went  himself  into  Spain  to  apply  in  person  to 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  who  governed  the  united  king- 
doms of  Arragon  and  Castile* 

The  circumstances  of  his  brother's  application  in 
England,  which  appears  to  have  been  unsuccessful, 
are  not  to  my  purpose  to  relate  ;  and  the  limits  pre- 
scribed to  this  biographical  sketch  will  prevent  the 
detail  of  particulars  respecting  his  own  negotiation 


INTRODUCTION. 

in  Spain.  This  occupied  him  eight  years;  in  which  the 
various  agitations  of  suspense,  expectation  and  disap- 
pointment must  have  borne  hard  upon  his  patience. 
At  length  his  scheme  was  adopted  by  Isabella;  who 
undertook,  as  queen  of  Castile,  to  defray  the  expenses 
of  the  expedition,  and  declared  herself  ever  after  the 
friend  and  patron  of  the  hero  who  projected  it. 

Columbus,  who  during  his  ill  success  in  the  ne- 
gotiation never  abated  any  thing  of  the  honors  and 
emoluments  which  he  expected  to  acquire  in  the  ex- 
pedition, obtained  from  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  a  sti- 
pulation of  every  article  contained  in  his  first  propo- 
sals. He  was  constituted  high  admiral  and  viceroy  of" 
all  the  seas,  islands  and  continents  which  he  should 
discover;  with  power  to  receive  one  tenth  of  the  pro- 
fits arising  from  their  productions  and  commerce; 
which  offices  and  emoluments  were  to  be  made  here- 
ditary in  his  family. 

These  articles  being  adjusted,  the  preparations  for 
the  voyage  were  brought  forward  with  rapidity;  but 
they  were  by  no  means  adequate  to  the  importance  of 
the  expedition.  Three  small  vessels,  scarcely  suffi- 
cient in  size  to  be  employed  in  the  coasting  business, 
were  appointed  to  traverse  the  vast  Atlantic  and  to 
encounter  the  storms  and  currents  always  to  be  ex- 
pected in  tropical  climates,  uncertain  seasons  and  un- 
known seas.  These  vessels^  as  we  must  suppose  them 


$  INTRODUCTION 

in  the  infancy  of  navigation,  were  ill  constructed,  in 
a  poor  condition  and  manned  by  seamen  unaccustom- 
ed to  distant  voyages.  But  the  tedious  length  of  time 
which  Columbus  had  passed  in  solicitation  and  sus- 
pense and  the  prospect  of  being  able  soon  to  obtain 
the  object  of  his  wishes  induced  him  to  overlook 
what  he  could  not  easily  remedy,  and  led  him  to  dis- 
regard those  circumstances  which  would  have  intimi- 
dated any  other  mind.  He  accordingly  equipped  his 
small  squadron  with  as  much  expedition  as  possible, 
manned  with  ninety  men  and  victualled  for  one  year. 
With  these,  on  the  third  of  August  1492,  amidst  a 
vast  crowd  of  spectators,  he  set  sail  on  an  enterprise 
which,  if  we  consider  the  ill  condition  of  his  ships, 
the  inexperience  of  his  sailors,  the  length  and  preca- 
rious nature  of  his  voyage  and  the  consequences  that 
flowed  from  it,  was  the  most  daring  and  important 
that  ever  was  undertaken.  He  touched  at  some  of  the 
Portuguese  settlements  in  the  Canary  isles;  where, 
although  he  had  been  but  a  few  days  at  sea,  he  found 
his  vessels  needed  refitting.  He  soon  made  the  neces- 
sary repairs,  and  took  his  departure  from  the  west- 
ermost  islands  that  had  hitherto  been  discovered. 
Here  he  left  the  former  track  of  navigation,  and 
steered  his  course  due  west. 

Not  many  days  after  he  laid  this  course  he  per- 
ceived the  symptoms  of  a  new  scene  of  difficulty.  The 


INTRODUCTION'.  ^ 

sailors  now  began  to  contemplate  the  dangers  and 
uncertain  issue  of  a  voyage,  the  nature  and  length  of 
which  were  left  entirely  open  to  conjecture.  Besides 
the  fickleness  and  timidity  natural  to  men  unaccus- 
tomed to  the  discipline  of  a  seafaring  life,  several  cir- 
cumstances contributed  to  inspire  an  obstinate  and 
mutinous  disposition ;  which  required  the  most  con- 
summate art  as  well  as  fortitude  in  the  admiral  to 
control.  Having  been  three  weeks  at  sea,  and  expe- 
rienced the  uniform  course  of  the  tradcTvinds,  they 
contended  that,  should  they  continue  the  same  course 
for  a  longer  time,  the  same  winds  would  never  per- 
mit them  to  return  to  Spain.  The  magnetic  needle 
began  to  vary-  its  direction.  This  being  the  first  time 
that  this  phenomenon  was  ever  noticed,  it  was  viewed 
by  the  sailors  with  astonishment  -,  they  thought  it  an 
indication  that  nature  itself  had  changed  its  laws,  and 
that  Providence  was  about  to  punish  their  audacity  in 
venturing  so  far  beyond  the  bounds  of  man.  They  de- 
clared that  the  commands  of  the  government  had  been 
fully  obeyed  in  their  proceeding  so  many  days  in  the 
same  course,  and  so  far  surpassing  all  former  naviga- 
tors in  quest  of  discoveries. 

Every  talent  requisite  for  governing,  soothing 
and  tempering  the  passions  of  men  is  conspicuous  in 
the  conduct  of  Columbus  on  this  occasion.  The  dig- 
nity and  affability  of  his   manners,  his   surprising 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

knowledge  and  experience  in  naval  affairs,  his  unwea- 
ried and  minute  attention  to  the  duties  of  his  com- 
mand gave  him  a  great  ascendency  over  the  minds 
of  his  men  and  inspired  that  degree  of  confidence 
which  would  have  maintained  his  authority  in  almost 
any  circumstances.  But  here,  from  the  nature  of  the 
undertaking,  every  man  had  leisure  to  feed  his  ima- 
gination with  the  gloominess  and  uncertainty  of  the 
prospect.  They  found  from  day  to  day  the  same 
steady  gales  wafting  them  with  rapidity  from  their 
native  country  and  indeed  from  all  countries  of  which 
they  had  any  knowledge. 

He  addressed  himself  to  their  passions  with  all 
the  variety  of  management  that  the  situation  would 
admit,  sometimes  by  soothing  them  with  the  prog- 
nostics of  approaching  land,  sometimes  by  flattering 
their  ambition  and  feasting  their  avarice  with  the 
glory  and  wealth  they  would  acquire  from  discover- 
ing the  rich  countries  beyond  the  Atlantic,  and  some- 
times by  threatening  them  with  the  displeasure  of 
their  king,  should  their  disobedience  defeat  so  great 
an  object.  But  every  argument  soon  lost  its  effect; 
and  their  uneasiness  still  increased.  From  secret 
whisperings  it  arose  to  open  mutiny  and  dangerous 
conspiracy.  At  length  they  determined  to  rid  them- 
selves of  the  remonstrances  of  Columbus  by  throwing 
him  into  the  sea.    The  infection  spread  from  ship  to 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

ship,  and  involved  officers  as  well  as  sailors.  They 
finally  lost  all  sense  of  subordination  and  addressed 
their  commander  in  an  insolent  manner,  demanding 
to  be  conducted  immediately  back  to  Spain;  or,  they 
assured  him,  they  would  seek  their  own  safety  by 
taking  away  his  life, 

Columbus,  whose  sagacity  had  discerned  even7 
symptom  of  the  disorder,  was  prepared  for  this  last 
stage  of  it;  and  was  sufficiently  apprised  of  the  dan- 
ger that  awaited  him.  He  found  it  vain  to  contend 
with  passions  he  could  no  longer  control.  He  there- 
fore proposed  that  they  should  obey  his  orders  for 
three  days  longer;  and,  should  they  not  discover  land 
in  that  time,  he  would  then  direct  his  course  for 
Spain.  They  complied  with  his  proposal;  and,  hap- 
pily for  mankind,  in  three  days  they  discovered  land. 
This  was  a  small  island,  to  which  he  gave  the  name 
of  San  Salvador.  His  first  interview  with  the  natives 
was  a  scene  of  compassion  on  the  one  part  and  asto-% 
nishment  on  the  other,  but  highly  interesting  to  both. 
The  natives  were  entirely  naked,  simple  and  timo- 
rous; and  they  viewed  the  Spaniards  as  a  superior 
order  of  beings  descended  from  the  sun;  which,  in 
that  island  and  in  most  parts  of  America,  was  wor- 
shipped as  a  deity.  By  this  it  was  easy  for  Colum- 
bus to  perceive  the  line  of  conduct  proper  to  be  ob- 
served towards  that  simple  and  inoffensive  people. 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

Had  his  companions  and  successors  of  the  Spanish  na- 
tion possessed  the  wisdom  and  humanity  of  this  great 
discoverer,  the  benevolent  mind  would  have  had  to 
experience  no  sensations  of  regret  in  contemplating 
the  extensive  advantages  arising  to  mankind  from  the 
discovery  of  America. 

In  this  voyage  Columbus  discovered  the  islands 
of  Cuba  and  Hispaniola,  on  the  latter  of  which  he 
erected  a  small  fort;  and  having  left  a  garrison  of 
thirty  eight  men  he  set  sail  for  Spain.  Returning 
across  the  Atlantic,  he  was  overtaken  by  a  violent 
storm,  which  lasted  several  days  and  increased  to 
such  a  degree  as  baffled  his  naval  skill  and  threatened 
immediate  destruction.  In  this  situation,  when  all 
were  in  a  state  of  despair  and  it  was  expected  that 
every  sea  would  swallow  up  the  crazy  vessel,  he 
manifested  a  serenity  and  presence  of  mind  seldom 
equalled  in  cases  of  like  extremity.  He  wrote  a  short 
account  of  his  voyage  and  of  the  discoveries  he  had 
made;  this  he  hastily  wrapped  in  an  oiled  cloth,  then 
enclosed  it  in  a  cake  of  wax  and  put  it  into  an  empty 
cask,  which  he  threw  overboard,  in  hopes  that  some 
fortunate  accident  might  preserve  a  deposit  of  so 
much  importance  to  the  world. 

The  storm  however  abated,  and  he  at  length  ar- 
rived in  Spain,  after  having  betn  driven  by  stress  of 
weather  into  the  port  of  Lisbon;  where  he  had  op- 


lxNTRODlCTlON.  13 

portunity,  in  an  interview  with  the  king  of  Portugal, 
to  prove  the  truth  of  his  system  by  arguments  more 
convincing  than  those  he  had  before  advanced  in  the 
character  of  a  bold  projector  but  humble  suitor.  He 
was  received  everywhere  in  Spain  with  royal  honors; 
his  family  was  ennobled,  and  his  former  stipulation 
respecting  his  offices  and  emoluments  was  ratified  in 
the  most  solemn  manner  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella; 
while  all  Europe  resounded  his  praises,  and  recipro- 
cated their  joy  and  congratulations  on  the  discovery 
of  what  they  called  a  new  world. 

The  immediate  consequence  was  a  second  voyage, 
in  which  Columbus  took  charge  of  a  squadron  of  se- 
venteen ships  of  considerable  burden.  Volunteers  of 
all  ranks  solicited  to  be  employed  in  this  expedition. 
He  carried  over  fifteen  hundred  persons,  with  the 
necessaries  for  establishing  a  colony  and  extending 
his  discoveries.  In  this  voyage  he  explored  most  of 
the  West  India  islands;  but  on  his  arrival  at  Hispani- 
ola  he  found  that  the  garrison  he  had  left  there  had 
been  all  destroyed  by  the  natives,  and  the  fort  de- 
molished. He  proceeded  however  in  the  planting  of 
his  colony;  and  by  his  prudent  and  humane  conduct 
toward  the  natives  he  effectually  established  the 
Spanish  authority  in  that  island.  But  while  he  was 
thus  laying  the  foundation  of  European  dominion  in 
America,  some  discontented  persons,  who  had  re- 

Vol.  I.  B 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

turned  to  Spain,  uniting  with  his  former  opponents 
and  powerful  enemies  at  court,  conspired  to  accom- 
plish his  ruin. 

They  represented  his  conduct  in  such  a  light  as  to 
create  uneasiness  in  the  jealous  mind  of  Ferdinand, 
and  make  it  necessaiy  for  Columbus  again  to  return 
to  Spain,  to  counteract  their  machinations  and  obtain 
such  further  supplies  as  were  necessary  to  his  great 
political  and  beneficent  purposes.  On  his  arriving  at 
court,  and  stating  with  his  usual  dignity  and  confi- 
dence the  whole  history  of  his  transactions  abroad, 
every  thing  wore  a  favorable  appearance.  He  was 
received  with  the  same  honors  as  before,  and  solicit- 
ed to  take  charge  of  another  squadron,  to  carry  out 
supplies,  to  pursue  his  discoveries  and  in  every  re- 
spect to  use  his  discretion  in  extending  the  Spanish 
empire  in  the  new  world. 

In  this  third  voyage  he  discovered  the  continent 
of  America  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Orinoco.  He 
rectified  many  disorders  in  his  government  of  His- 
paniola,  which  had  happened  in  his  absence;  and 
every  thing  was  going  en  in  a  prosperous  train,  when 
an  event  was  announced  to  him,  which  completed  his 
own  ruin  and  gave  a  fatal  turn  to  the  Spanish  policy 
and  conduct  in  America.  This  was  the  arrival  of 
Francis  de  Bovadilla,  with  a  commission  to  super- 
sede Columbus  in  his  government,  to  arraign  him  as 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

a  criminal  and  pronounce  judgment  on  all  his  former 
administration. 

It  seems  that  by  this  time  the  enemies  of  Colum- 
bus, despairing  to  complete  his  overthrow  by  ground- 
less insinuations  of  malconduct,  had  taken  the  more 
effectual  method  of  exciting  the  jealousy  of  their 
sovereigns.  From  the  promising  samples  of  gold  and 
other  valuable  commodities  brought  from  America, 
they  took  occasion  to  represent  to  the  king  and  queen 
that  the  prodigious  wealth  and  extent  of  the  countries 
he  had  discovered  would  soon  throw  such  power  into 
the  hands  of  the  viceroy,  that  he  would  trample  on 
the  royal  authority  and  bid  defiance  to  the  Spanish 
power.  These  arguments  were  well  calculated  for  the 
cold  and  suspicious  temper  of  Ferdinand;  and  they 
must  have  had  some  effect  upon  the  mind  of  Isabella. 
The  consequence  was  the  appointment  of  Bovadilla, 
the  inveterate  enemy  of  Columbus,  to  take  the  go- 
vernment from  his  hands.  This  first  tyrant  of  the 
Spanish  nation  in  America  began  his  administration 
by  ordering  Columbus  to  be  put  in  chains  on  board 
of  a  ship,  and  sending  him  prisoner  to  Spain.  By 
relaxing  all  discipline  he  introduced  disorder  and 
licentiousness  thro  the  colony.  He  subjected  the 
unhappy  natives  to  a  most  miserable  servitude,  and 
apportioned  them  out  in  large  numbers  among  his 
adherents.    Under  this   severe  treatment  perishH 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

in  a  short  time  many  thousands  of  those  innocent 

people. 

Columbus  was  carried  in  his  fetters  to  the  Span- 
ish court,  where  the  king  and  queen  either  feigned 
or  felt  a  sufficient  regret  at  the  conduct  of  Bovadilla 
towards  their  illustrious  prisoner.  He  was  not  only 
released  from  confinement ;  he  was  treated  with  all 
imaginable  respect.  But,  altho  the  king  endeavored 
to  expiate  the  offence  by  censuring  and  recalling  Bo- 
vadilla, yet  we  may  judge  of  his  sincerity  from  his 
appointing  Nicholas  de  Ovando,  another  well  known 
enemy  of  Columbus,  to  succeed  in  the  government; 
and  from  his  ever  after  refusing  to  reinstate  Colum- 
bus, or  to  fulfil  any  of  the  conditions  on  which  the 
discoveries  had  been  undertaken. 

After  two  years  of  solicitation  for  this  or  some 
other  employment,  he  at  length  obtained  a  squadron 
of  four  small  vessels  to  attempt  new  discoveries.  He 
then  set  out,  with  the  enthusiasm  of  a  young  adven- 
turer, in  quest  of  what  was  always  his  favorite  object, 
a  passage  into  the  South  Sea,  by  which  he  might  sail 
to  India.  He  touched  at  Hispaniola,  where  Ovando 
the  governor  refused  him  admittance  on  shore,  even 
to  take  shelter  during  a  hurricane,  the  prognostics  of 
which  his  experience  had  taught  him  to  discern.  By 
putting  into  a  creek  he  rode  out  the  storm,  and  then 
bore  away  for  the  continent.  He  spent  several  months, 


INTRODUCTION  17 

the  most  boisterous  of  the  year,  in  exploring  the  coast 
round  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  in  hopes  of  finding  the  in- 
tended navigation  to  India.  At  length  he  was  ship- 
wrecked and  driven  ashore  on  the  island  of  Jamaica, 
His  cup  of  calamities  seemed  now  to  be  full.  He 
was  cast  upon  an  island  of  savages,  without  provi- 
sions, without  a  vessel,  and  thirty  leagues  from  any 
Spanish  settlement.  But  the  greatest  physical  misfor- 
tunes are  capable  of  being  imbittered  by  the  insults  of 
our  fellow  creatures.  A  few;  of  his  companions  ge- 
nerously offered,  in  two  Indian  canoes,  to  attempt  a 
voyage  to  Hispaniola,  in  hopes  of  obtaining  a  vessel 
for  the  relief  of  the  unhappy  crew%  After  suffering 
ever*}'  extremity  of  danger  and  fatigue,  they  arrived 
at  the  Spanish  colony  in  ten  days.  Ovando,  excited 
by  personal  malice  against  Columbus,  detained  these 
messengers  eight  months,  and  then  despatched  a  ves- 
sel to  Jamaica  to  spy  out  the  condition  of  Columbus 
and  his  crew,  with  positive  instructions  to  the  captain 
not  to  afford  them  any  relief.  This  order  was  punc- 
tually executed.  The  captain  approached  the  shore, 
delivered  a  letter  of  empty  compliment  from  Ovando 
to  the  admiral,  received  his  answer  and  returned. 
About  four  months  afterwards  a  vessel  came  to  their 
relief;  and  Columbus,  worn  out  with  fatigues  and 
broken  by  misfortunes,  returned  for  the  last  time  to 
Spain.    Plere  a  new  distress  awaited  him,  which  he 

B2 


18  JNTRODTTTION. 

considered  as  one  of  the  greatest  of  his  whole  life  : 
this  was  the  death  of  queen  Isabella,  his  last  and  most 
powerful  friend. 

He  did  not  suddenly  abandon  himself  to  despair. 
He  called  upon  the  gratitude  and  justice  of  the  king; 
and  in  terms  of  dignity  demanded  the  fulfilment  of 
his  former  contract.  Notwithstanding  his  age  and  in- 
firmities, he  even  solicited  to  be  further  employed  in 
extending  the  career  of  discovery,  without  a  prospect 
of  any  other  reward  than  the  pleasure  of  doing  good 
to  mankind.  But  Ferdinand,  cold,  ungrateful  and 
timid,  dared  not  comply  with  any  proposal  of  this 
kind,  lest  he  should  increase  his  own  obligations  to  a 
man  whose  services  he  thought  it  dangerous  to  re- 
ward. He  therefore  delayed  and  avoided  any  decision 
on  these  subjects,  in  hopes  that  the  declining  health 
of  Columbus  would  soon  rid  the  court  of  the  remon- 
strances of  a  suitor,  whose  unexampled  merit  was,  in 
their  opinion,  a  sufficient  reason  for  destroying  him. 
In  this  they  were  not  disappointed.  Columbus  lan- 
guished a  short  time,  and  gladly  resigned  a  life  which 
had  been  worn  out  in  the  most  signal  services  perhaps 
that  have  been  rendered  by  any  one  man  to  an  un- 
grateful world. 

Posterity  is  sometimes  more  just  to  the  memory 
of  great  men  than  cotemporaries  were  to  their  per- 
sons. But  even  this  consolation,  if  it  is  one,  has  been 


INTRODUCTION  19 

wanting  to  the  discoverer  of  our  hemisphere.  The 
continent,  instead  of  bearing  his  name,  has  been  called 
after  one  of  his  followers,  a  man  of  no  particular  me- 
rit. And  in  the  modern  city  of  Mexico  there  is  insti- 
tuted and  perpetuated,  by  order  of  government,  an 
annual  festival  in  honor  of  Hernando  Cortez,  the  per- 
fidious butcher  of  its  ancient  race;  while  no  public 
honors  have  been  decreed  to  Christopher  Columbus, 
one  of  the  wisest  and  best  among  the  benefactors  of 
mankind. 

After  his  last  return  from  America  he  seems  to 
have  passed  the  short  remainder  of  his  life  at  Valla- 
dolid,  the  capital  of  Old  Castile,  and  then  the  seat  of 
the  Spanish  government.  He  died  in  that  city  on  the 
twentieth  of  August  1506,  and  was  buried  in  one  of 
its  churches.  Over  his  body  is  a  plain  stone  inscribed 
simply  with  his  name,  as  it  is  written  in  Spanish, 
Christoval  Colon. 

His  son,  who  wrote  his  life,  has  left  us  a  particu- 
lar description  of  his  person,  manners  and  private 
character;  all  of  which  were  agreeable  and  interesting. 
His  portrait  is  in  possession  of  the  author  of  this 
poem.  It  is  painted  in  oil,  half  length  and  the  size  of 
life, copied  from  an  original  in  the  gallery  of  Florence- 


! 


THE 


COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  I. 


ARGUMENT. 

Subject  of  the  Poem,  and  invocation  to  Freedom.  Con- 
dition of  Columbus  in  a  Spanish  prison.  His  monologue 
on  the  great  actions  of  his  life,  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  had  been  rewarded.  Appearance  and  speech  of  Hes* 
per,  the  guardian  Genius  of  the  western  continent.  They 
quit  the  dungeon  and  ascend  the  mount  of  vision,  which 
rises  over  the  western  coast  of  Spain;  Europe  settling  from 
their  sight,  and  the  Atlantic  ocean  spreading  far  beneath 
their  feet.  Continent  of  America  draws  into  view,  and  is 
described  by  its  mountains,  rivers,  lakes,  soil  and  some  of 
the  natural  productions. 


THE 


COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  I. 

1  SING  the  Mariner  who  first  unfuri'd 
An  eastern  banner  o'er  the  western  world, 
And  taught  mankind  where  future  empires  lav 
In  these  fair  confines  of  descending  day; 
Who  sway'd  a  moment,  with  vicarious  power, 
Iberia's  sceptre  on  the  new  found  shore, 
Then  saw  the  paths  his  virtuous  steps  had  trod 
Pursued  by  avarice  and  defiied  with  blood, 
The  tribes  he  foster'd  with  paternal  toil 
Snatcht  from  his  hand,  and  slaughter'd  for  their  spoil.    10 
Slaves,  kings,  adventurers,  envious  of  his  name, 
Enjoy'd  his  labors  and  purloin'd  his  fame, 
And  gave  the  Viceroy,  from  his  high  seat  hurl'd. 
Chains  for  a  crown,  a  prison  for  a  world. 


24  COLUMBIA!).  BOOK  I. 

Long  overwhelm'd  in  woes,  and  sickening  there, 
He  met  the  slow  still  march  of  black  despair. 
Sought  the  last  refuge  from  his  hopeless  doom, 
And  wisht  from  thankless  men  a  peaceful  tomb: 
Till  vision'd  ages,  opening  on  his  eyes, 
Cheer'd  his  sad  soul  and  bade  new  nations  rise;         .  20 
He  saw  the  Atlantic  heaven  with  light  o'ercast, 
And  freedom  crown  his  glorious  work  at  last. 

Almighty  Freedom!  give  my  venturous  song 
The  force,  the  charm  that  to  thy  voice  belong; 
Tis  thine  to  shape  my  course,  to  light  my  way, 
To  nerve  my  country  with  the  patriot  lay, 
To  teach  all  men  where  all  their  interest  lies, 
How  rulers  may  be  just  and  nations  wise: 
Strong  in  thy  strength  I  bend  no  suppliant  knee, 
Invoke  no  miracle,  no  Muse  but  thee.  30 

Night  held  on  old  Castile  her  silent  reign, 
Her  half  orb'd  moon  declining  to  the  main; 
O'er  Valladolid's  regal  turrets  hazed 
The  drizzly  fogs  from  dull  Pisuerga  raised; 
Whose  hovering  sheets,  along  the  welkin  driven, 
Thinn'd  the  pale  stars,  and  shut  the  eye  from  heaven. 
Cold-hearted  Ferdinand  his  pillow  prest, 
Nor  dream'd  of  those  his  mandates  robb'd  of  rest. 


COOK  t  COLUMBIAD.  25 

Of  him  who  gemm'd  his  crown,  who  stretcht  his  reign 
To  realms  that  weigh'd  the  tenfold  poise  of  Spain;       40 
Who  now  beneath  his  tower  indungeon'd  lies, 
Sweats  the  chill  sod  and  breathes  inclement  skies. 

His  feverish  pulse,  slow  laboring  thro  his  frame. 
Feeds  with  scant  force  its  fast  expiring  flame; 
A  far  dim  watch-lamp's  thrice  reflected  beam 
Throws  thro  his  grates  a  mist-encumber'd  gleam. 
Paints  the  dun  vapors  that  the  cell  invade 
And  fills  with  spectred  forms  the  midnight  shade; 
When  from  a  visionary  short  repose, 
That  nursed  new  cares  and  temper'd  keener  woes,      5« 
Columbus  woke,  and  to  the  walls  addrest 
The  deep  felt  sorrows  bursting  from  his  breast: 

Here  lies  the  purchase,  here  the  wretched  spoil 

Of  painful  years  and  persevering  toil. 

For  these  damp  caves,  this  hideous  haunt  of  pain, 

I  traced  new  regions  o'er  the  chartless  main, 

Tamed  all  the  dangers  of  untraversed  waves, 

Hung  o'er  their  clefts  and  topt  their  surging  graves. 

Saw  traitorous  seas  o'er  coral  mountains  sweep, 

Red  thunders  rock  the  pole  and  scorch  the  deep,         60 

Death  rear  his  front  in  every  varying  form, 

Gape  from  the  shoals  and  ride  the  roaring  storm, 
Vol.  I.  C 


26  .    COLUMBIAD.  BOOk  I. 

My  struggling  bark  her  seamy  planks  disjoin, 

Rake  the  rude  rock  and  drink  the  copious  brine. 

Till  the  tired  elements  are  lull'd  at  last, 

And  milder  suns  allay  the  billowing  blast, 

Lead  on  the  trade  winds  with  unvarying  force, 

And  long  and  landless  curve  our  constant  course. 

Our  homeward  heaven  recoils;  each  night  forlorn 
Calls  up  new  stars,  and  backward  rolls  the  morn;         70 
The  boreal  vault  descends  with  Europe's  shore, 
And  bright  Calisto  shuns  the  wave  no  more, 
The  Dragon  dips  his  fiery -foaming  jole, 
The  affrighted  magnet  flies  the  faithless  pole; 
Nature  portends  a  general  change  of  laws, 
My  daring  deeds  are  deem'd  the  guilty  cause; 
The  desperate  crew,  to  insurrection  driven, 
Devote  their  captain  to  the  wrath  of  heaven, 
Resolve  at  once  to  end  the  audacious  strife 
And  buy  their  safety  with  his  forfeit  life.  8(3 

In  that  sad  hour,  this  feeble  frame  to  save, 
(Unblest  reprieve)  and  rob  the  gaping  wave, 
The  morn  broke  forth,  these  tearful  orbs  descried 
The  golden  banks  that  bound  the  western  tide. 
With  full  success  I  cidm'd  the  clamorous  race, 
Bade  heaven's  blue  arch  a  second  earth  embrace; 


BOOK  I.  COLUMBIAD.  27 

And  gave  the  asjonisht  age  that  bounteous  shore, 
Their  wealth  to  nations,  ancf  to  kings  their  power. 

Land  of  delights !  ah,  dear  delusive  coast, 
To  these  fond  aged  eyes  forever  lost!  90 

No  more  thy  flowery  vales  I  travel  o'er, 
For  me  thy  mountains  rear  the  head  no  more. 
For  me  thy  rocks  no  sparkling  gems  unfold, 
Nor  streams  luxuriant  wear  their  paths  in  gold; 
From  realms  of  promised  peace  forever  borne, 
I  hail  mute  anguish,  and  in  secret  mourn. 

But  dangers  past,  a  world  explored  in  vain 
And  foes  triumphant  show  but  half  my  pain. 
Dissembling  friends,  each  early  joy  who  gave, 
And  fired  my  youth  the  storms  of  fate  to  brave,  100 

Swarm'd  in  the  sunshine  of  my  happier  days, 
Pursued  the  fortune  and  partook  the  praise, 
Now  pass  my  cell  with  smiles  of  sour  disdain, 
Insult  my  woes  and  triumph  in  my  pain. 

One  gentle  guardian  once  could  shield  the  brave; 
But  now  that  guardian  slumbers  in  the  grave.1 
Hear  from  above,  thou  dear  departed  shade! 
As  once  my  hopes,  my  present  sorrows  aid, 
Burst  my  full  heart,  afford  that  last  relief, 
Breathe  back  my  sighs  and  reinspire  my  grief;  1 10 


28  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  1. 

Still  in  my  sight  thy  royal  form  appears, 

Reproves  my  silence  and  demands  my  tears. 

Even  on  that  hour  no  more  I  joy  to  dwell, 

When  thy  protection  bade  the  canvas  swell; 

When  kings  and  churchmen  found  their  factions  vain, 

Blind  superstition  shrunk  beneath  her  chain, 

The  sun's  glad  beam  led  on  the  circling  way. 

And  isles  rose  beauteous  in  Atlantic  day. 

For  on  those  silvery  shores,  that  new  domain, 

What  crowds  of  tyrants  fix  their  murderous  reign!    120 

Her  infant  realm  indignant  Freedom  flies, 

Truth  leaves  the  world,  and  Isabella  dies. 

Ah,  lend  thy  friendly  shroud  to  veil  my  sight, 
That  these  pain'd  eyes  may  dread  no  more  the  light; 
These  welcome  shades  shall  close  my  instant  doom, 
And  this  drear  mansion  molder  to  a  tomb. 

Thus  mournM  the  hapless  man :  a  thundering  sound 
Roll'd  thro  the  shuddering  walls  and  shook  the  ground ; 
O'er  all  the  dungeon,  where  black  arches  bend, 
The  roofs  unfold  and  streams  of  light  descend ;  1 30 

The  growing  splendor  fills  the  astonisht  room, 
And  gales  etherial  breathe  a  glad  perfume. 
Robed  in  the  radiance,  moves  a  form  serene, 
Of  human  structure,  but  of  heavenly  mien; 


flOOK  r.  COLUMBIA!),  2^ 

Near  to  the  prisoner's  touch  he  takes  his  stand, 

And  waves,  in  sign  of  peace,  his  holy  hand. 

Tall  rose  his  stature,  youth's  endearing  grace 

Adorn'd  his  limbs  and  brighten'd  in  his  face; 

Loose  o'er  his  locks  the  star  of  evening  hung, 

And  sounds  melodious  moved  his  cheerful  tongue :    140 

Rise,  trembling  chief,  to  scenes  of  rapture  rise, 
This  voice  awaits  thee  from  the  western  skies; 
Indulge  no  longer  that  desponding  strain, 
Nor  count  thy  toils,  nor  deem  thy  virtues  vain. 
Thou  seest  in  me  the  guardian  Power  who  keeps 
The  new  found  world  that  skirts  Atlantic  deeps, 
Hesper  my  name,  my  seat  the  brightest  throne 
In  night's  whole  heaven,  my  sire  the  living  sun, 
My  brother  Atlas,  from  his  birthright  boast, 
Claims  the  wild  wave;  but  mine  the  solid  coast.  150 


Atlas  and  Hesper  were  of  the  race  of  Titans.  They  were  sons 
of  Uranus  or  of  Japetus,  according  as  the  fable  is  traced  to  dif- 
ferent countries,  whose  supreme  god  (originally  the  sun)  was 
called  by  different  names.  Atlas,  from  being  king  of  Mauritania, 
became  a  mountain  to  support  the  heavens,  and  gave  his  name 
to  the  western  ocean.  Hesper  frequented  that  mountain  in  the 
study  of  astronomy;  till  one  evening  he  disappeared,  and  return- 
ed no  more.  He  was  then  placed  in  the  western  heaven;  and, 
ha\  ing  been  a  beautiful  young  man,  he  became  a  beautiful  planet, 
railed  the  evening  star.  This  circumstance  gave  his  name  to  \\\r 

C2 


30  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  I. 

This  hand,  which  form'd,  and  in  the  tides  of  time 

Laves  and  improves  the  meliorating  clime, 

Which  taught  thy  prow  to  cleave  the  trackless  way. 

And  hail'd  thee  first  in  occidental  day, 

To  all  thy  worth  shall  vindicate  thy  claim, 

And  raise  up  nations  to  revere  thy  name. 

In  this  dark  age  tho  blinded  faction  sways, 
And  wealth  and  conquest  gain  the  palm  of  praise; 
Awed  into  slaves  while  groveling  millions  groan, 
And  blood-stain'd  steps  lead  upward  to  a  throne;        160 

western  regions  of  the  earth  indefinitely.  Italy  was  called  Hes- 
peria  by  the  Greeks,  because  it  lay  west  from  them,  and  seemed 
under  the  influence  of  the  star  of  evening-;  Spain  was  called 
Hesperia  by  the  Romans,  for  the  same  reason. 

If  the  nations  which  adopted  this  fable  had  known  of  a  country 
west  of  the  Atlantic,  that  country  must  have  been  Hesperia  to 
them  all;  and  pursuing  this  analogy  I  have  so  named  it  in  several 
instances  in  the  course  of  this  poem.  Considering  Hesper  as  the 
guardian  Genius,  and  Columbus  as  the  Discoverer  of  the  western 
continent, it  may  derive  its  name, in  poetical  language, from  either 
of  theirs  indifferently,  and  be  called  Hesperia  or  Columbia. 

Atlas  is  considered  in  this  poem  as  the  guardian  Genius  of 
Africa.  See  his  speech  in  the  eighth  book,  on  the  slavery  of  his 
people. 

This  explanation  seemed  of  such  immediate  importance  for 

anderstanding  the  machinery  of  the  poem,  as  to  require  its 

being  placed  here.    The  other  notes,  being  numerous  and  many 

of  them  long,  are  placed  at  the  end  of  the  volume,  with  suitable 

eference  to  and  fromtb,e  passages  to  which  they  belomr. 


HOOK  1  COLUMBIAD 

Far  other  wreaths  thy  virtuous  temples  twine. 

Far  nobler  triumphs  crown  a  life  like  thine; 

Thine  be  the  joys  that  minds  immortal  grace, 

As  thine  the  deeds  that  bless  a  kindred  race. 

Now  raise  thy  sorrow'd  soul  to  views  more  bright, 

The  vision'd  ages  rushing  on  thy  sight; 

Worlds  beyond  worlds  shall  bring  to  light  their  stores, 

Time,  nature,  science  blend  their  utmost  powers, 

To  show,  concentred  in  one  blaze  of  fame, 

The  ungather'd  glories  that  await  thy  name.  170 

As  that  great  seer,  whose  animating  rod 
Taught  Jacob's  sons  their  wonder-working  God, 
Who  led  thro  dreary  wastes  the  murmuring  band, 
And  reacht  the  confines  of  their  promised  land, 
Opprest  with  years,  from  Pisgah's  towering  height. 
On  fruitful  Canaan  feasted  long  his  sight; 
The  bliss  of  unborn  nations  warm'd  his  breast, 
Repaid  his  toils  and  sooth'd  his  soul  to  rest; 
Thus  o'er  thy  subject  wave  shalt  thou  behold 
Far  happier  realms  their  future  charms  unfold,  1 80 

In  nobler  pomp  another  Pisgah  rise, 
Beneath  whose  foot  thy  new  found  Canaan  lies; 
There,  rapt  in  vision,  hail  my  favorite  clime 
\nd  taste  the  blessings  of  remotest  time 


32  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  h 

So  Hesper  spoke;  Columbus  raised  his  head; 
His  chains  dropt  off;  the  cave,  the  castle  fled. 
Forth  walked  the  Pair;  when  steep  before  them  stood, 
Slope  from  the  town,  a  heaven-illumined  road; 
That  thro  disparting  shades  arose  on  high, 
Reacht  o'er  the  hills  and  lengthen'd  up  the  sky,  190 

Show'd  a  clear  summit,  rich  with  rising  flowers, 
That  breathe  their  odors  thro  celestial  bowers. 
O'er  the  proud  Pyrenees  it  looks  sublime, 
Subjects  the  Alps  and  levels  Europe's  clime; 
Spain,  lessening  to  a  chart,  beneath  it  swims, 
And  shrouds  her  dungeons  in  the  void  she  dims. 

Led  by  the  Power,  the  Hero  gain'd  the  height, 
New  strength  and  brilliance  fiusht  his  mortal  sight; 
When  calm  before  them  flow'd  the  western  main, 
Far  stretcht,  immense,  a  sky-encircled  plain.  200 

No  sail,  no  isle,  no  cloud  invests  the  bound, 
Nor  billowy  surge  disturbs  the  vast  profound; 
Till,  deep  in  distant  heavens,  the  sun's  blue  ray 
Topt  unknown  cliffs  and  calFd  them  up  to  day; 
Slow  glimmering  into  sight  vide  regions  drew, 
And  rose  and  brighten'd  on  the  expanding  view; 
Fair  sweep  the  waves,  the  lessening  ocean  smiles. 
In  misty  radiance  loom  a  thousand  isles; 


BOOR  I.  COLUMBIAD.  33 

Near  and  more  near  the  long  drawn  coasts  arise, 
Bays  stretch  their  arms  and  mountains  lift  the  skies,  210 
The  lakes,  unfolding  point  the  streams  their  way, 
Slopes,  ridges,  plains  their  spreading  skirts  display, 
The  vales  branch  forth,  high  walk  approaching  groves* 
\nd  all  the  majesty  of  nature  moves. 

O'er  the  wild  hemisphere  his  glances  fly, 
Its  form  distending  as  it  still  draws  nigh, 
As  all  its  salient  sides  force  far  their  sway, 
Crowd  back  the  ocean  and  indent  the  day. 
He  saw,  thro  central  zones,  the  winding  shore 
Spread  the  deep  gulf  his  sail  had  traced  before,  220 

The  Darien  isthmus  check  the  raging  tide, 
Join  distant  lands  and  neighboring  seas  divide; 
On  either  hand  the  shores  unbounded  bend, 
Push  wide  their  waves,  to  each  dim  pole  ascend; 
The  two  twin  continents  united  rise, 
Broad  as  the  main  and  lengthen'd  with  th*  skies. 

Long  gazed  the  Mariner;  when  thus  the  Guide: 
Here  spreads  the  world  thy  daring  sail  descried, 
Hesperia  cali'd,  from  my  anterior  claim; 
But  now  Columbia,  from  thy  patriarch  name.  330 

So  from  Phenicia's  peopled  strand  of  yore 
Europa  saiPd  and  sought  an  unknown  shore; 


o4  COLUMBIA!}.  BOOK  I. 

There  stampt  her  sacred  name;  and  thence  her  race? 
Hale,  venturous,  bold  from  Jove's  divine  embrace, 
Ranged  o'er  the  world,  predestined  to  bestride 
Earth's  elder  continents  and  each  far  tide. 

Ages  unborn  shall  bless  the  happier  day, 
That  saw  thy  streamer  shape  the  guideless  way, 
Their  bravest  heroes  trace  the  path  you  led, 
And  sires  of  nations  thro  the  regions  spread.  240 

Behold  yon  isles,  where  first  thy  flag  unfurl'd 
In  bloodless  triumph  o'er  the  younger  world; 
As,  awed  to  silence,  savage  bands  gave  place, 
And  hail'd  with  joy  the  sun*descended  race.2 

Retrace  the  banks  yon  rushing  waters  lave; 
There  Orinoco  checks  great  ocean's  wave; 
Thine  is  the  stream;  it  cleaves  the  well  known  coast* 
Where  Paria's  walks  thy  former  footsteps  boast. 
But  these  no  more  thy  wide  discoveries  bound; 
Superior  prospects  lead  their  swelling  round,  250 

Nature's  remotest  scenes  before  thee  roll, 
And  years  and  empires  open  on  thy  soul. 

To  yon  dim  rounds  first  elevate  thy  view; 
See  Quito's  plains  o'erlook  their  proud  Peru; 
On  whose  huge  base,  like  isles  amid  sky  driven. 
A  vast  protuberance  props  the  cope  of  heaven; 


BOOR  I.  COLUMBIAD.  35 

Earth's  loftiest  turrets  there  contend  for  height. 
And  all  our  Andes  fill  the  bounded  sight. 
From  south  to  north  what  long  blue  swells  arise, 
Built  thro  the  clouds  and  lost  in  ambient  skies!  260 

Approaching  slow  they  heave  expanding  bounds, 
The  yielding  concave  bends  subiimer  rounds; 
Whose  wearied  stars,  high  curving  to  the  west, 
Pause  on  the  summits  for  a  moment's  rest; 
Recumbent  there  they  renovate  their  force 
And  roll  rejoicing  on  their  downward  course. 

Round  each  bluff  base  the  sloping  ravine  bends, 
Hills  form  on  hills  and  croupe  o'er  croupe  extends; 
Ascending,  whitening,  how  the  crags  are  lost, 
O'erhung  with  headcliffs  of  eternal  frost!  270 

Broad  fields  of  ice  give  back  the  morning  ray, 
Like  walls  of  suns  or  heaven's  perennial  day. 

There  folding  storms  on  eastern  pinions  ride, 
Veil  the  black  void  and  wrap  the  mountain's  side, 
Rude  thunders  rake  the  crags,  the  rains  descend 
And  the  long  lightnings  o'er  the  vallies  bend; 
While  blasts  unburden'd  sweep  the  cliffs  of  snow, 
The  whirlwinds  wheel  above,  the  floods  convolve  below. 

There  molten  rocks  explosive  rend  their  tomb; 
Voicanos,  laboring  many  a  nation's  doom,  28(4 


,36  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  L 

Wild  o'er  the  regions  pour  their  floods  of  fire; 
The  shores  heave  backward  and  the  seas  retire. 
There  lava  waits  my  late  reluctant  call, 
To  roar  aloft  and  shake  some  guilty  wall; 
Thy  pride,  O  Lima,  swells  the  sulphurous  wave, 
And  fanes  and  priests  and  idols  crowd  thy  grave. 
But  cease,  my  son,  these  dread  events  to  trace, 
Nor  learn  the  woes  that  here  await  thy  race. 
Anorth  from  that  broad  gulf,  where  verdant  rise 
Those  gentler  mounds  that  skirt  the  tenSperate  skies,  290 
A  happier  hemisphere  invites  thy  view; 
Tis  there  the  old  world  shall  embrace  the  new; 
There  Europe's  better  sons  their  seat  shall  trace. 
And  change  of  government  improve  the  race. 
Thro  all  the  midsky  zones,  to  yon  blue  pole, 
Their  green  hills  lengthen,  their  bright  rivers  roll; 
And  swelling  westward,  how  their  champaigns  run! 
How  slope  their  uplands  to  the  morning  sun! 

So  spoke  the  blest  Immortal;  when  more  near 
His  northern  wilds  in  all  their  breadth  appear;  300 

Lands  yet  unknown  and  streams  without  a  name 
Rise  into  vision  and  demand  their  fame. 
As  when  some  saint  first  gains  his  bright  abode, 
Vaults  o'er  the  spheres  and  views  the  works  of  God* 


BOOK  I  COLUMBIAD.  o7 

Sees  earth,  his  kindred  orb,  beneath  him  roll, 

Here  glow  the  centre,  and  there  point  the  pole; 

O'er  land  and  sea  his  eyes  delighted  rove, 

And  human  thoughts  his  heavenly  joys  improve; 

With  equal  scope  the  raptured  Hero's  sight 

Ranged  the  low  vale  or  climb'd  the  cloudy  height,     310 

As,  fixt  in  ardent  look,  his  opening  mind 

Explored  the  realms  that  here  invite  mankind. 

From  sultry  Mobile's  gulf-indented  shore 

To  where  Ontario  hears  his  Laurence  roar, 

Stretcht  o'er  the  broadback'd  hills,  in  long  array, 

The  tenfold  Alleganies  meet  the  day, 

And  show,  far  sloping  from  the  plains  and  streams. 

The  forest  azure  streak'd  with  orient  beams. 

High  moved  the  sceae,  Columbus  gazed  sublime, 

And  thus  in  prospect  hail'd  the  happy  clime;  320 

Blest  be  the  race  my  guardian  guide  shall  lead 

Where  these  wide  vales  their  various  bounties  spread. 

What  treasured  stores  the  hills  must  here  combine! 

Sleep  still  ye  diamonds,  and  ye  ores  refine; 

Exalt  your  heads  ye  oaks,  ye  pines  ascend, 

Till  future  navies  bid  your  branches  bend; 

Then  spread  the  canvas  o'er  the  watery  way, 

Explore  new  worlds  and  teach  the  old  your  sway. 
Voi,  T.  D 


38  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  l 

He  said,  and  northward  cast  his  curious  eyes 
On  other  cliffs  of  more  exalted  size.  330 

Where  Maine's  bleak  breakers  line  the  dangerous  coast. 
And  isles  and  shoals  their  latent  horrors  boast, 
High  lantern'd  in  his  heaven  the  cloudless  White 
Heaves  the  glad  sailor  an  eternal  light; 3 
Who  far  thro  troubled  ocean  greets  the  guide, 
And  stems  with  steadier  helm  the  stormful  tide. 

Nor  could  those  heights  unnoticed  raise  their  head,. 
That  sweli  sublime  o'er  Hudson's  shadowy  bed; 
Tho  fiction  ne'er  has  hung  them  in  the  skies, 
Tho  White  and  Andes  far  superior  rise,  340 

Yet  hoary  Kaatskill,  where  the  storms  divide, 
Would  lift  the  heavens  from  Atlas'  laboring  pride. 

Land  after  land  his  passing  no^ce  claim, 
And  hills  by  hundreds  rise  without  a  name; 
Hills  yet  unsung,  their  mystic  powers  untold; 
Celestials  there  no  sacred  senates  hold; 
No  chain'd  Prometheus  feasts  the  vulture  there. 
No  ciyclop  forges  thro  their  summits  glare, 
To  Phrygian  Jove  no  victim  smoke  is  curi'd, 
Nor  ark  high  landing  quits  a  deluged  wrorld.  350 

But  were  these  masses  piled  on  Asia's  shore, 
Taurus  would  shrink,  Hemodia  strut  no  more. 


BOOK  1  COLUMBIAD. 

Indus  and  Ganges  scorn  their  humble  sires, 

And  rising  suns  salute  superior  fires; 

Whose  watchful  priest  would  meet,  with  matin  blaze,, 

His  earlier  god,  and  sooner  chant  his  praise. 

For  here  great  nature,  with  a  bolder  hand, 

RolI'd  the  broad  stream  and  heaved  the  lifted  land: 

And  here,  from  finisht  earth,  triumphant  trod 

The  last  ascending  steps  of  her  creating  God.  06k 

He  saw  these  mountains  ope  their  watery  stores, 
Floods  quit  their  caves  and  seek  the  distant  shores; 
Wild  thro  disparting  plains  their  waves  expand 
And  lave  the  banks  where  future  towns  must  stand. 
Whirl'd  from  the  monstrous  Andes'  bursting  sides : 
Maragnon4  leads  his  congregating  tides; 
A  thousand  Alps  for  him  dissolve  their  snow, 
A  thousand  Rhones  obedient  bend  below, 
From  different  zones  their  ways  converging  wind,    • 
Sweep  beds  of  ore  and  leave  their  gold  behind, 
In  headlong  cataracts  indignant  rave, 
Rush  to  his  banks  and  swell  the  swallowing  wave. 
Ucayla,  first  of  all  his  mighty  sons, 
From  Cusco's  walls  a  wearied  journey  runs; 
Pastaza  mines  proud  Pambamarca's  base. 
And  holds  thro  sundering  hills  his  lawless  :\ 


40r  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  I 

Aloft,  where  Cotopaxa  flames  on  high, 

The  roaring  Napo  quits  his  misty  sky,  * 

Down  the  long  steeps  in  whitening  torrents  driven, 

Like  Nile  descending  from  his  fabled  heaven;  38fc 

Mound  after  mound  impetuous  Tigris  rends, 

Curved  Ista  folds  whole  countries  in  his  bends* 

Vast  Orinoco,  summon'd  forth  to  bring 

His  far  fetcht  honors  to  the  sateless  kingj 

Drives  on  his  own  strong  course  to  gain  the  shore : 

But  sends  Catuba  here  with  half  his  store. 

Like  a  broad  Bosphorus  here  Negro  guides 

The  gather'd  mass  of  fifty  furious  tides; 

From  his  waste  world,  by  nameless  fountains  fed, 

Wild  Purus  wears  his  Ion*  and  lonely  bed;  390 

O'er  twelve  degrees  of  earth  Madera  flows, 

And  robs  the  south  of  half  its  treasured  snows; 

Zingus,  of  equal  length  and  heavier  force, 

Rolls  on,  for  months,  the  same  continuous  course 

To  reach  his  master's  bank;  that  here  constrains 

Topayo,  charged  with  all  Brasilia's  rains; 

While  inland  seas  and  lakes  unknown  to  fame 

Send  their  full  tributes  to  the  monarch  stream; 

Who,  swell'd  with  growing  conquest,  wheels  abroad. 

Drains  every  land  and  gathers  all  his  flood;  400 


800K  t  COLTJMfeLUJ  it 

Then  far  from  clime  to  clime  majestic  goes, 

Enlarging,  widening,  deepening  as  he  flows; 

Like  heaven's  broad  milkyway  he  shines  alone, 

Spreads  o'er  the  globe  its  equatorial  zone, 

Weighs  the  cleft  continent  and  pushes  wide 

Its  balanced  mountains  from  each  crumbling  side . 

Sire  Ocean  hears  his  proud  Maragnon  roar, 

Moves  up  his  bed  and  seeks  in  vain  the  shore, 

Then  surging  strong,  with  high  and  hoary  tide, 

Whelms  back  the  Stream  and  checks  his  rolling  pride.  4 1 0 

The  Stream  ungovernable  foams  with  ire, 

Climbs,  combs  tempestuous  and  attacks  the  sire; 

Earth  feels  the  conflict  o'er  her  bosom  spread, 

Her  isles  and  uplands  hide  their  wood-crewn'd  head; 

League  after  league  from  land  to  water  change, 

From  realm  to  realm  the  seaborn  monsters  range; 

Vast  midland  heights  but  pierce  the  liquid  plain. 

Old  Andes  tremble  for  their  prcud  domain; 

Till  the  fresh  Flood  regains  his  forceful  sway, 

Drives  back  his  father  Ocean,  lasht  with  spray,  42£ 

Whose  ebbing  waters  lead  the  downward  sweep, 

And  waves  and  trees  and  banks  roll  whirling  to  the  deep 

Where  suns  less  ardent  cast  their  golden  beams. 
And  minor  Andes  pour  a  wraste  of  streams, 

Da 


42  COLOtBIAD.  BOOK  I. 

The  marsh  of  Moxoe  scoops  the  world,  and  fills 

(From  Bahia's  coast  to  Cochabamba's  hills) 

A  thousand  leagues  of  bog;  he  strives  in  vain 

Their  floods  to  centre  and  their  lakes  retain; 

His  gulfs  o'ercharged  their  opening  sides  display, 

And  southern  vales  prolong  the  seaward  way.  430 

Columbus  traced,  with  swift  exploring  eye, 

The  immense  of  waves  that  here  exalted  lie, 

The  realms  that  mound  the  unmeasured  magazine. 

The  far  blue  main,  the  climes  that  stretch  between, 

He  saw  Xaraya's  diamond  banks  unfold, 

And  Paraguay's  deep  channel  paved5  with  gold* 

Saw  proud  Potosi  lift  his  glittering  head 

And  pour  down  Plata  thro  his  tinctured  bed. 

Rich  with  the  spoils  of  many  a  distant  mine. 

In  his  broad  silver  sea  their  floods  combine;  440 

Wide  over  earth  his  annual  freshet  strays 

And  highland  drains  with  lowland  drench  repays; 

Her  thirsty  regions  wait  his  glad  return 

And  drink  their  future  harvest  from  his  um. 

"Where  the  cold  circles  gird  the  southern  sky? 
Brave  Magellan's  wild  channel  caught  his  eye; 
The  long  cleft  ridges  WalFd  the  spreading  way, 
That  gleams  far  westward  to  an  unknown  sea, 


book  r.  columhta]).  43 

Soon  as  the  distant  swell  was  seen  to  roll, 

His  ancient  wishes  fi  reabsorbed  his  soul;  450 

Warm  from  his  heaving  heart  a  sudden  sigh 

Burst  thro  his  lips;  he  tum'd  his  mofsten'd  eye, 

And  thus  besought  his  Angel:  speak,  my  guide, 

Where  leads  the  pass,  and  what  yon  purple  tide? 

How  the  dim  waves  in  blending  ether  stray! 

No  lands  behind  them  rise,  no  pinions  on  them  play. 

There  spreads,  belike,  that  other  unsail'd  main 
I  sought  so  long,  and  sought  alas  in  vain; 
To  gird  this  watery  globe,  and  bring  to  light 
Old  India's  coast  and  regions  wrapt  in  night.  460 

Restore,  celestial  friend,  my  youthful  morn, 
Call  back  my  years  and  let  my  fame  return; 
Grant  me  to  trace,  beyond  that  pathless  sea, 
Some  happier  shore  from  lust  of  empire  free: 
To  find  in  that  far  world  a  peaceful  bower, 
From  envy  safe,  and  curst  Ovando's  power. 
Earth's  happiest  realms  let  not  their  distance  hide, 
Nor  seas  forever  roll  their  useless  tide. 
For  nations  yet  unborn,  that  wait  thy  time, 
Demand  their  seats  in  that  secluded  clime;  470 

Ah,  grant  me  still,  their  passage  to  prepare, 
One  venturous  bark,  and  be  my  life  thy  carc> 


44  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  I 

So  pray'd  the  Hero;  Hesper  mild  replies. 
Divine  compassion  softening  in  his  eyes: 
Tho  still  to  virtuous  deeds  thy  mind  aspires. 
And  these  glad  visions  kindle  new  desires, 
Yet  hear  with  reverence  what  attends  thy  state, 
Nor  wish  to  pass  the  eternal  bounds  of  fate. 
Led  by  this  sacred  light  thou  soon  shalt  see 
That  half  mankind  shall  owe  their  seats  to  thee,        480 
Freedom's  first  empire  claim  its  promised  birth 
In  these  uch  rounds  of  sea -encircled  earth; 
Let  other  years,  by  thine  example  prest, 
Call  forth  their  heroes  to  explore  the  rest. 

Thro  different  seas  a  twofold  passage  lies 
To  where  sweet  India  scents  a  waste  of  skies. 
The  circling  course,  by  Madagascar's  shores, 
Round  Afric's  cape,  bold  Gama  now  explores; 
Thy  well  plann'd  path  these  gleam y  straits  provide, 
Nor  long  shall  rest  the  daring  search  untried.  490 

This  idle  frith  must  open  soon  to  fame, 
Here  a  lost  Lusitanian7  fix  his  name, 
From  that  new  main  in  furious  waves  be  tost 
And  fall  neglected  on  the  barbarous  coast. 

But  lo  the  Chief!  bright  Albion  bids  him  rise^ 
Speed  in  his  pinions,  ardor  in  his  eyes; 


BOOK  I.  COLUMRIAD.  45 

Hither,  O  Drake,  display  thy  hastening  sails, 
Widen  ye  passes,  and  awake  ye  gales, 
March  thou  before  him,  heaven-revolving  sun, 
Wind  his  long  course  and  teach  him  where  to  run;   500 
Earth's  distant  shores,  in  circling  bands  unite, 
Lands,  learn  your  fame,  and  oceans,  roll  in  light, 
Round  all  the  watery  globe  his  flag  be  hurl'd, 
A  new  Columbus  to  the  astonisht  world. 

He  spoke;  and  silent  tow'rd  the  northern  sky 
Wide  o'er  the  hills  the  Hero  cast  his  eye, 
Saw  the  long  floods  thro  devious  channels  pour 
And  wind  their  currents  to  the  opening  shore; 
Interior  seas  and  lonely  lakes  display 
Their  glittering  glories  to  the  beams  of  day.  510 

Thy  capes,  Virginia,  towering  from  the  tide, 
Raise  their  blue  banks  and  slope  thy  barriers  wide. 
To  future  sails  unfold  an  inland  way 
And  guard  secure  thy  multifluvian  bay; 
That  drains  uncounted  realms,  and  here  unites 
The  liquid  mass  from  Alleganian  heights. 
York  leads  his  wave,  imbank'd  in  flowery  pride, 
And  nobler  James  falls  winding  by  his  side; 
Back  to  the  hills,  thro  many  a  silent  vale, 
Wild  Rappahanoc  seems  to  lure  the  sail;  52Q 


46  COLUMBIAN.  BOOK  t 

Patapsco's  bosom  courts  the  hand  of  toil, 
Dull  Susquehanna  laves  a  length  of  soil; 
But  mightier  far,  in  sealike  azure  spread, 
Potomac  sweeps  his  earth  disparting  bed. 

Long  dwell  his  eye  where  these  commingling  pour'd. 
Their  waves  unkeel'd,  their  havens  unexplored; 
Where  frowning  forests  stretch  the  dusky  wing, 
A.nd  deadly  damps  forbid  the  flowers  to  spring; 
No  seasons  clothe  the  field  with  cultured  grain, 
No  buoyant  ship  attempts  the  chartless  main;  530' 

Then,  with  impatient  voice,  My  Seer,  he  cried, 
When  shall  my  children  cross  the  lonely  tide? 
Here,  here  my  sons,  the  hand  of  culture  bring, 
Here  teach  the  lawn  to  smile,  the  grove  to  sing; 
Ye  laboring  floods,  no  longer  vainly  glide, 
Ye  harvests  load  them,  and  ye  forests  ride; 
Bear  the  deep  burden  from  the  joyous  swain, 
And  tell  the  world  where  peace  and  plenty  reign. 

Hesper  to  this  returned  him  no  reply, 
But  raised  new  visions  to  his  roving  eye.  540 

He  saw  broad  Delaware  the  shores  divide, 
He  saw  majestic  Hudson  pour  his  tide; 
Thy  stream,  my  Hartford,  thro  its  misty  robe, 
Play'd  in  the  sunbeams,  belting  far  the  globe: 


BOOK  1.  COLUMBIA  1).  47 

No  watery  glades  thro  richer  vallies  shine, 
Nor  drinks  the  sea  a  lovelier  wave  than  thine. 

Mystick  and  Charles  refresh  their  seaward  isles: 
And  gay  Piscateway  pays  his  passing  smiles; 
Swift  Kenebec,  high  bursting  from  his  lakes, 
Shoots  down  the  hillsides  through  the  clouds  he  makes ; 
And  hoarse  resounding,  gulfing  wide  the  shore, 
Dread  Laurence  labors  with  tremendous  roar; 
Laurence,  great  son  of  Ocean!  lorn  he  lies 
And  braves  the  blasts  of  hyperborean  skies. 
Where  hoary  winter  holds  his  howling  reign 
And  April  flings  her  timid  showers  in  vain, 
Groans  the  choked  Flood,    n  frozen  fetters  bouncl> 
And  isles  of  ice  his  angry  front  surround. 

As  old  Enceladus,  in  durance  vile, 
Spreads  his  huge  length  beneath  Sicilia's  isle,  5G€ 

Feels  mountains,  crusht  by  mountains,  on  him  prest, 
Close  not  his  veins  nor  still  his  laboring  breast; 
His  limbs  convulse,  his  heart  rebellious  rolls, 
Earth  shakes  responsive  to  her  utmost  poles, 
While  rumbling,  bursting,  boils  his  ceaseless  ire, 
Flames  to  mid  heaven  and  sets  the  skies  on  fire. 
So  the  contristed  Laurence  lays  him  low, 
And  hills  of  sleet  and  continents  of  snow 


48  COLUMBIA©.  BOOK  I. 

Rise  on  his  crystal  breast;  his  heavine  sides 

Crash  with  the  weight,  and  pour  their  gushing  tides.  570 

Asouth,  whence  all  his  hundred  branches  bend, 

Relenting  airs  with  boreal  blasts  contend; 

Far  in  his  vast  extremes  he  swells  and  thaws, 

And  seas  foam  wide  between  his  ice-bound  jaws. 

Indignant  Frost,  to  hold  his  captive,  plies 

His  hosted  fiends  that  vex  the  polar  skies, 

Unlocks  his  magazines  of  nitric  stores, 

Azotic  charms  and  muriatic  powers; 

Hail,  with  its  glassy  globes,  and  brume  congeal'd. 

Rime's  fleecy  flakes,  and  storm  that  heaps  the  field  580 

Strike  thro  the  sullen  Stream  with  numbing  force. 

Obstruct  his  sluices  and  impede  his  course. 

In  vain  he  strives;  his  might  interior  fails; 

Nor  spring's  approach,  nor  earth's  whole  heat  avails; 

He  calls  his  hoary  sire;  old  Ocean  roars 

Responsive  echo  thro  the  Shetland  shores. 

He  comes,  the  Father!  from  his  bleak  domains, 

To  break  with  liquid  arms  the  sounding  chains; 

Clothed  in  white  majesty,  he  leads  from  far 

His  tides  high  foaming  to  the  wintry  war.  590 

Biilows  on  billows  lift  the  maddening  brine, 

And  seas  and  clouds  in  battling  conflict  join, 


BOOK  I.  r;OT/LrMBIAD. 

O'erturn  the  vast  gulf  glade  with  rending  sweep. 
And  crash  the  crust  that  bridged  the  boiling  deep; 
Till  forced  aloft,  bright  bounding  thro  the  air, 
Moves  the  blear  ice  and  sheds  a  dazzling  glare: 
The  torn  foundations  on  the  surface  ride, 
And  wrecks  of  winter  load  the  downward  tide. 

The  loosen'd  ice-isles  o'er  the  main  advance, 
Toss  on  the  surge  and  thro  the  concave  dance;  601- 

Whirl'd  high,  conjoin'd,  in  crystal  mountains  driven, 
Alp  over  Alp,  they  build  a  midway  heaven; 
Whose  million  mirrors  mock  the  solar  ray 
And  give  condensed  the  tenfold  glare  of  day. 
As  tow'rd  ihe  south  the  mass  enormous  glidec 
And  brineless  rivers  furrow  down  its  sides, 
The  thirsty  sailor  steals  a  glad  supply, 
And  sultry  tradewinds  quaff  the  boreal  sky. 

But  oft  insidious  death,  with  mist  o'erstrown, 

Rides  the  dark  ocean  on  this  icy  throne;  6h 

When  ships  thro  vernal  seas  with  light  airs  steer 

Their  midnight  march  and  deem  no  danger  near. 

The  steerman  gaily  helms  his  course  along 

And  laughs  and  listens  to  the  watchman's  song, 

Who  walks  the  deck,  enjoys  the  murky  fog, 

Sure  of  his  chart,  his  magnet  and  his  leg; 
Vol.  I.  E 


50  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  I. 

Their  shipmates  dreaming,  while  their  slumbers  last, 

Of  joys  to  come,  of  toils  and  dangers  past. 

Sudden  a  chilling  blast  comes  roaring  thro 

The  trembling  shrouds  and  startles  all  the  crew;        620 

They  spring  to  quarters  and  perceive  too  late 

The  mount  of  death,  the  giant  strides  of  fate. 

The  fullsail'd  ship,  with  instantaneous  shock 

Dasht  into  fragments  by  the  floating  rock, 

Plunges  beneath  its  basement  thro  the  wave, 

And  crew  and  cargo  glut  the  watery  grave. 

Say,  Palfrey,8  brave  good  man,  was  this  thy  doom? 
Dwells  here  the  secret  of  thy  midsea  tomb? 
But,  Susan,  why  that  tear?  my  lovely  friend, 
Regret  may  last,  but  grief  should  have  an  end.  636 

An  infant  then,  thy  memory  scarce  can  trace 
The  lines,  tho  sacred,  of  thy  father's  face; 
A  generous  spouse  has  well  replaced  the  sire; 
New  duties  hence  new  sentiments  require. 

Now  where  the  lakes,  those  midland  oceans,  lie, 
Columbus  turn'd  his  heaven-illumined  eye, 
Ontario's  banks,  unable  to  retain 
The  five  great  Caspians  from  the  distant  main, 
Burst  with  the  ponderous  mass,  and  forceful  whirl'd 
His  Laurence  forth,  to  balance  thus  the  world.  640 


BOOK  I.  COLUMBIAD.  9% 

Above,  bold  Erie's  wave  sublimely  stood, 

Look'd  o'er  the  cliff  and  heaved  his  headlong  flood; 

Where  dread  Niagara  bluffs  high  his  brow 

And  frowns  defiance  to  the  "world  below. 

White  clouds  of  mist  expanding  o'er  him  play, 

That  tinge  their  skirts  in  all  the  beams  of  day; 

Pleased  Iris  wantons  in  perpetual  pride 

And  bends  her  rainbows  o'er  the  dashing  tide. 

Far  glimmering  in  the  north,  bleak  Huron  runs, 

Clear  Michigan  reflects  a  thousand  suns,  65& 

And  bason'd  high,  on  earth's  broad  bosom  gay, 

The  bright  Superior  silvers  down  the  day. 

Blue  mounds  beyond  them  far  in  ether  fade, 
Deep  groves  between  them  cast  a  solemn  shade, 
Slow  moves  their  settling  mist  in  lurid  streams 
And  dusky  radiance  streaks  the  solar  beams, 
Fixt  on  the  view  the  great  discoverer  stood 

And  thus  addrest  the  messenger  of  good: 

But  why  these  seats,  that  seem  reserved  to  grace 

The  social  toils  of  some  illustrious  race?  660 

Why  spread  so  wide  and  form'd  so  fair  in  vain? 

And  why  so  distant  rolls  the  bounteous  main? 

These  happy  regions  must  forever  rest 

Of  man  unseen,  by  native  beasts  possesU 


52  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  1 

And  the  best  heritage,  my  sons  could  boast, 

Iliude  their  search  in  far  dim  deserts  lost. 

For  see,  no  ship  can  point  her  pendants  here, 

No  stream  conducts  nor  ocean  wanders  near; 

Frost,  crags  and  cataracts  their  north  invest, 

And  the  tired  sun  scarce  finds  their  bounds  awest.     67$ 

To  whom  the  Seraph:  Here  indeed  retires 
The  happiest  land  that  feels  my  fostering  fires; 
Here  too  shall  numerous  nations  found  their  seat* 
And  peace  and  freedom  bless  the  kind  retreat. 
Led  by  this  arm  thy  sons  shall  hither  come, 
And  streams  obedient  yield  the  heroes  room, 
Spread  a  broad  passage  to  their  well  known  main, 
Nor  sluice  their  lakes  nor  form  their  soils  in  vain. 

Here  my  bold  Missisippi  bends  his  way, 
Scorns  the  dim  bounds  of  yon  bleak  boreal  day  68C 

And  calls  from  western  heavens,  to  feed  his  stream, 
The  rains  and  floods  that  Asian  seas  might  claim. 
Strong  in  his  march  and  charged  with  all  the  fates 
Of  regions  pregnant  with  a  hundred  states, 
He  holds  in  balance,  ranged  on  either  hand, 
Two  distant  oceans  and  their  sundering  land, 
Commands  and  drains  the  interior  tracts  that  lit 
Outmeasuring  Europe's  total  breadth  of  sky. 


BOOK  I.  COLUMBIAD.  *«* 

High  in  the  north  his  parent  fountains  wed, 

And  oozing  urns  adorn  his  infant  head;  690 

In  vain  proud  Frost  his  nursing  lakes  would  close 

And  choke  his  channel  with  perennial  snows; 

From  all  their  slopes  he  curves  his  countless  rills. 

Sweeps  their  long  marshes,  saps  their  settling  hills; 

Then  stretching,  straitening  south,  he  gaily  gleams, 

Swells  thro  the  climes  and  swallows  all  their  streams; 

From  zone  to  zone,  o'er  earth's  broad  surface  curl'd, 

He  cleaves  his  course,  he  furrows  half  the  world, 

Now  roaring  wild  thro  bursting  mountains  driven, 

Now  calm  reflecting  all  the  host  of  heaven;  700 

Where  Cynthia  pausing,  her  own  face  admires^ 

And  suns  and  stars  repeat  their  dancing  fires. 

Wide  o'er  his  meadowy  lawns  he  spreads  and  feeds 

His  realms  of  canes,  his  waving  world  of  reeds; 

Where  mammoths  grazed  the  renovating  groves, 

Slaked  their  huge  thirst  and  chill'd  their  fruitless  loves; 

Where  elks,  rejoicing  o'er  the  extinguisht  race, 

By  myriads  rise  to  fill  the  vacant  space. 

Earth's  widest  gulf  expands  to  meet  his  wave, 

Vast  isles  of  ocean  in  his  current  lave;  71<~ 

Glad  Thetis  greets  him  from  his  fmisht  course 

And  bathes  her  Nereids  in  his  freshening  source 

E2 


54  COLUMBIAN  BOOK  1 

To  his  broad  bed  their  tributary  stores 
Wisconsin  here,  there  lonely  Peter  pours; 
Croix,  from  the  northeast  wilds,  his  channel  fills, 
Ohio,  gather'd  from  his  myriad  hills, 
\  azoo  and  Black,  surcharged  by  Georgian  springs* 
Rich  Illinois  his  copious  treasure  brings; 
Arkansa,  measuring  back  the  sun's  long  course, 
Moine,  Francis,  Rouge  augment  the  father's  force.    720 
But  chief  of  all  his  family  of  floods 
Missouri  marches  thro  his  world  of  woods; 
He  scorns  to  mingle  with  the  filial  train, 
Takes  every  course  to  reach  alone  the  main; 
Orient  awhile  his  bending  sweep  he  tries, 
Now  drains  the  southern,  now  the  northern  skies. 
Searches  and  sunders  far  the  globe's  vast  frame, 
Reluctant  joins  the  sire  and  takes  at  last  his  name. 

There  lies  the  path  thy  future  sons  shall  trace, 
Plant  here  their  arts  and  rear  their  vigorous  race:      730* 
A  race  predestined,  in  these  choice  abodes, 
To  teach  mankind  to  tame  their  fluvial  floods, 
Retciin  from  ocean,  as  their  work  requires, 
These  great  auxiliars,  raised  by  solar  fires, 
Force  them  to  form  ten  thousand  roads  and  girth 
With  liquid  belts  each  verdant  mound  of  earth. 


BOOK  I  (JOLLMT 

To  aid  the  colon's  as  the  carrier's  toil, 

To  drive  the  coulter  and  to  fat  the  soil, 

Learn  all  mechanic  arts  and  oft  regain 

Their  native  hills  in  vapor  and  in  rain.  740 

So  taught  the  Saint.  The  regions  nearer  drcw 
And  raised  resplendent  to  their  Hero's  view 
Rich  nature's  triple  reign;  for  here  elate 
She  stored  the  noblest  treasures  of  her  state, 
Adorn'd  exuberant  this  her  last  domain, 
As  yet  unalter'd  by  her  mimic  man, 
Sow'd  liveliest  gems  and  plants  of  proudest  grace 
And  strung  with  strongest  nerves  her  animated  race. 

Retiring  far  round  Hudson's  frozen  bay, 
Earth's  lessening  circles  shrink  beyond  the  day;         750 
Snows  ever  rising  with  the  toils  of  time 
Choke  the  chill  shrubs  that  brave  the  dismal  clime; 
The  beasts  all  whitening9  roam  the  lifeless  plain, 
And  caves  unfrequent  scoop  the  couch  for  man. 

Where  spring's  coy  steps  in  cold  Canadia  stray 
And  joyless  seasons  hold  unequal  sway, 
He  saw  the  pine  its  daring  mantle  rear, 
Break  the  rude  blast  and  mock  the  brumal  year, 
Shag  the  green  zone  that  bounds  the  boreal  skies 
And  bid  all  southern  vegetation  rise.  760 


56  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  I 

Wild  o'er  the  vast  impenetrable  round 

The  untrod  bowers  of  shadowy  nature  frown'd; 

Millennial  cedars  wave  their  honors  wide, 

The  fir's  tall  boughs,  the  oak's  umbrageous  pride, 

The  branching  beach,  the  aspin's  trembling  shade 

Veil  the  dim  heaven  and  brown  the  dusky  glade. 

For  in  dense  crowds  these  sturdy  sons  of  earth, 

In  frosty  regions,  claim  a  stronger  birth; 

Where  heavy  beams  the  sheltering  dome  requires 

And  copious  trunks  to  feed  its  wintry  fires.  770 

But  warmer  suns,  that  southern  zones  emblaze, 
A  cool  thin  umbrage  o'er  their  woodland  raise; 
Floridia's  shores  their  blooms  around  him  spread, 
And  Georgian  hills  erect  their  shady  head; 
Whose  flowery  shrubs  regale  the  passing  air 
With  all  the  untasted  fragrance  of  the  year. 
Beneath  tall  trees,  dispersed  in  loose  array, 
The  rice-grown  lawns  their  humble  garb  display; 
The  infant  maiz,  unconscious  of  its  worth, 
Points  the  green  spire  and  bends  the  foliage  forth;     780 
In  various  forms  unbidden  harvests  rise, 
And  blooming  life  repays  the  genial  skies. 

Where  Mcxic  hills  the  breezy  gulf  defend, 
Spontaneous  groves  with  richer  burdens  bend. 


BOOK  I.  COLUMBIAN.  37 

Anana's  stalk  its  shaggy  honors  yields, 
Acacia's  flowers  perfume  a  thousand  fields, 
Their  cluster'd  dates  the  mast-like  palms  unfold) 
The  spreading  orange  waves  a  load  of  gold, 
Connubial  vines  o'ertop  the  larch  they  climb, 
The  long-lived  olive  mocks  the  moth  of  time,  790 

Pomona's  pride,  that  old  Grenada  claims, 
Here  smiles  and  reddens  in  diviner  flames; 
Pimento,  citron  scent  the  sky  serene, 
White  woolly  clusters  fringe  the  cotton's  green, 
.  The  sturdy  fig,  the  frail  deciduous  cane 
And  foodful  cocoa  fan  the  sultry  plain. 

Here,  in  one  view,  the  same  glad  branches  bring 
The  fruits  of  autumn  and  the  flowers  of  spring; 
No  wintry  blasts  the  unchanging  year  deform, 
Nor  beasts  unshelter'd  fear  the  pinching  storm;  800 

But  vernal  breezes  o'er  the  blossoms  rove 
And  breathe  the  ripen'd  juices  thro  the  grove. 

Beneath  the  crystal  wave's  inconstant  light, 
Pearls  burst  their  shells  to  greet  the  Hero's  sight; 
From  opening  earth  in  living  lustre  shine 
The  various  treasures  of  the  blazing  mine; 


58  COLUMBIAN.  BOOK  I. 

Hills,  cleft  before  him,  all  their  stores  unfold, 

The  pale  platina  and  the  burning  gold; 

Silver  whole  mounds,  and  gems  of  dazzling  ray 

Illume  the  rocks  and  shed  the  beams  of  dav.  810 


THE 


COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  II. 


ARGUMENT. 

Natives  of  America  appear  in  vision.  Their  manners 
and  characters.  Columbus  demands  the  cause  of  the  dis- 
similarity of  men  in  different  countries.  Hesper  replies, 
That  the  human  body  is  composed  of  a  due  proportion  of 
the  elements  suited  to  the  place  of  its  first  formation;  that 
these  elements,  differently  proportioned,  produce  all  the 
changes  of  health,  sickness,  growth  and  decay;  and  may 
likewise  produce  any  other  changes  which  occasion  the 
diversity  of  men;  that  these  elemental  proportions  are 
varied,  not  more  by  climate  than  temperature  w.nd  other 
local  circumstances;  that  the  mind  is  likewise  in  a  state 
of  change,  and  will  take  its  physical  character  from  the 
body  and  from  external  objects:  examples.  Inquiry  con- 
cerning the  first  peopling  of  America.  View  of  Mexico. 
Its  destruction  by  Cortez.  View  of  Cusco  and  Quito, 
cities  of  Peru.  Tradition  of  Capac  and  *ella,  founders  of 
the  Peruvian  empire.  Columbus  inquires  into  their  real 
history.  Hesper  gives  an  account  of  their  origin  and 
relates  the  stratagems  they  used  in  establishing  that 
empire. 


THfc 

COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  II. 

XllGH  <yer  his  world  as  thus  Columbus  gazed 
And  Hesper  still  the  changing  scene  emblazed, 
Hound  all  the  realms  increasing  lustre  flew 
And  raised  new  wonders  to  the  Patriarch's  view. 

He  saw  at  once,  as  far  as  eye  could  rove, 
Like  scattering  herds,  the  swarthy  people  move 
In  tribes  innumerable;  all  the  waste, 
Wide  as  their  walks,  a  varying  shadow  cast 
As  airy  shapes,  beneath  the  moon's  pale  eye, 
People  the  clouds  that  sail  the  midnight  sky,  10 

Dance  thro  the  grove  and  flit  along  the  glade 
And  cast  their  grisly  phantoms  on  the  shade, 
So  move  the  hordes  in  thickets  half  conceal'd 
Or  vagrant  stalking  thro  the.  fenceless  field. 

Vol.  L  F 


62  COLTJMBIAD.  BOOK  H. 

Here  tribes  untamed,  who  scorn  to  fix  their  home, 

O'er  shadowy  streams  and  trackless  deserts  roam; 

While  others  there  in  settled  hamlets  rest, 

And  corn-clad  vales  a  happier  state  attest. 
The  painted  chiefs,  in  guise  terrific  drest, 

Rise  fierce  to  war  and  beat  their  savage  breast;  20 

Dark  round  their  steps  collecting  warriors  pour, 

Some  fell  revenge  begins  the  hideous  roar; 

From  hill  to  hill  the  startling  war  song  flies 

And  tribes  on  tribes  in  dread  disorder  rise, 

Track  the  mute  foe  and  scour  the  howling  wood 

Loud  as  a  storm,  ungovern'd  as  a  flood, 

Or  deep  in  groves  the  silent  ambush  lay, 

Lead  the  false  flight,  decoy  and  seize  their  prey, 

Their  captives  torture,  butcher  and  devour, 

Drink  the  warm  blood  and  paint  their  cheeks  with  gore.  SO 

Awhile  he  paused,  with  dubious  thoughts  opprest. 
And  thus  to  Hesper's  ear  his  doubts  addrest: 
Say,  to  what  class  of  nature's  sons  belong 
The  countless  tribes  of  this  untutor'd  throng, 
Where  human  frames  and  brutal  souls  combine^ 
No  force  can  tame  them  and  no  arts  refine? 
Can  these  be  fashion'd  on  the  social  plan, 
Or  boast  a  lineage  with  the  race  of  man? 


BOOK  II.  COLUMBIA!*.  60 

When  first  we  found  them  in  yon  hapless  isle, 

They  scem'cl  to  know  and  seem'd  to  fear  no  guile.        40 

A  timorous  herd  like  harmless  roes  they  ran 

And  call'd  us  gods,  from  whom  their  tribes  began. 

But  when,  their  fears  allay'd,  in  us  they  trace 

The  well  known  image  of  a  mortal  race, 

When  Spanish  blood  their  wondering  eyes  behelc^ 

A  frantic  rage  their  changing  bosoms  sweil'd; 

They  roused  their  bands  from  numerous  hills  afar 

To  feast  their  souls  on  ruin,  waste  and  war; 

Nor  plighted  vows  nor  sure  defeat  control 

The  same  indignant  savageness  of  soul.  59 

Tell  then,  my  seer,  from  what  dire  sons  of  earth 
The  brutal  people  drew  their  ancient  birth; 
If  these  forgotten  shores  and  useless  tides 
Have  form'd  them  different  from  the  world  besides. 
Born  to  subjection,  when  in  happier  time, 
A  nobler  race  should  reach  their  fruitful  clime; 
Or  if  a  common  source  all  nations  clr.im, 
Their  lineage,  form  and  faculties  the  same, 
What  sovereign  secret  cause,  yet  undisplay'd, 
This  wondrous  change  in  nature's  work  has  made;       60 
Why  various  powers  of  soul  and  tints  of  face 
In  different  lands  diversify  the  race, 


64  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  tf 

To  whom  the  Guide:  Unnumber'd  causes  lie 
In  earth  and  sea,  in  climate,  soil  and  sky, 
That  fire  the  soul  or  damp  the  genial  flame 
And  work  their  wonders  on  the  human  frame. 
Bee  beauty,  form  and  color  change  with  place; 
Here  charms  of  health  the  lively  visage  grace^ 
There  pale  diseases  float  in  every  wind, 
Deform  the  figure  and  degrade  the  mind.  7Q 

From  earth's  own  elements  thy  race  at  first 
Rose  into  lHe,  the  children  of  the  dust; 
These  kindred  elements,  by  various  use, 
Nourish  the  growth  and  every  change  produce. 
In  each  ascending  stage  the  man  sustain, 
His  breath,  his  food,  his  physic  and  his  bane. 
In  due  proportions  where  these  atoms  lie, 
A  certain  form  their  equal  aids  supply; 
And  while  unchanged  the  efficient  causes  reign, 
Age  following  age  the  certain  form  maintain.  SO 

But  where  crude  atoms  disproportion^  rise 
And  cast  their  sickening  vapors  round  the  skiesr 
Unlike  that  harmony  of  human  frame, 
That  molded  first  and  reproduced  the  same, 
The  tribes  ill  form'd.  attempering  to  the  clime* 
Still  vary  downward  with  the  years  of  time; 


BOOK  II.  COLUMBIA!*.  65 

More  perfect  some  and  some  less  perfect  yield 
Their  reproductions  in  this  wondrous  field; 

Till  fixt  at  last  their  characters  abide 

And  local  likeness  feeds  their  local  pride.  90 

The  soul  too,  varying  with  the  change  of  clime* 

Feeble  or  fierce  or  groveling  or  sublime, 

Forms  with  the  body  to  a  kindred  plan 

And  lives  the  same,  a  nation  or  a  man. 

Yet  think  not  clime  alone  the  tint  controls, 
On  every  shore,  by  altitude  of  poles; 
A  different  cast  the  glowing  zone  demands, 
In  Paria's  groves,  from  Tombut's  10  burning  sands. 
Unheeded  agents,  for  the  sense  too  fine, 
With  every  pulse,  with  every  thought  combine,  100 

Thro  air  and  ocean  with  their  changes  run, 
Breathe  from  the  ground  or  circle  with  the  sun. 
Where  these  long  continents  their  shores  outspreadk 
See  the  same  form  all  different  tribes  pervade, 
Thro  all  alike  the  fertile  forests  bloom, 
And  all,  uncultured,  shed  a  solemn  gloom; 
Thro  all,  great  nature's  boldest  features  rise, 
Sink  into  vales  or  tower  amid  the  skies; 
Streams  darkly  winding  stretch  a  broader  sway, 
The  groves  and  mountains  bolder  walks  display;        1  lf> 

F2 


66  COLUMBIAN  BOOK  IT. 

A  dread  sublimity  informs  the  whole 
And  rears  a  dread  sublimity  of  soul. 

Yet  time  and  art  shall  other  changes  find 
And  open  still  and  vary  still  the  mind. 
The  countless  clans  that  tread  these  dank  abodes 
Who  glean  spontaneous  fruits  and  range  the  woods 
Fixt  here  for  ages  in  their  swarthy  face 
Display  the  wild  complexion  of  the  place. 
Yet  when, the  hordes  to  happy  nations  rise 
And  earth  by  culture  warms 1]  the  genial  skies,  12© 

A  fairer  tint  and  more  majestic  grace 
Shall  flush  their  features  and  exalt  the  race; 
While  milder  arts,  with  social  joys  refined, 
Inspire  new  beauties  in  the  growing  mind. 

Thy  followers  too,  old  Europe's  noblest  pride, 
When  future  gales  shall  wing  them  o'er  the  tide, 
A  ruddier  hue  and  deeper  shade  shall  gain 
And  stalk  in  statelier  figures  12  on  the  plain. 
While  nature's  grandeur  lifts  the  eye  abroad 
O'er  these  last  labors  of  the  forming  Godr  130' 

Wing'd  on  a  wider  glance  the  venturous  soul 
Bids  greater  powers  and  bolder  thoughts  unroll 
The  sage,  the  chief,  the  patriot  unconfined 
Shield  the  weak  world  and  meliorate  mankind. 


BOOK  ft  COLUMBIA!).  6/ 

But  think  not  thou,  in  ail  the  range  of  man, 
That  different  pairs  each  different  cast  began; 
Or  tribes  distinct,  by  signal  marks  confest, 
Were  born  to  serve  or  subjugate  the  rest. 

The  Hero  heard  and  thus  resumed  the  strain: 
Who  led  these  wanderers  o'er  the  dreary  main?         140 
Could  their  weak  sires  unskill'd  in  human  lore 
.Build  the  bold  bark  to  seek  an  unknown  shore? 
A  shore  so  distant  from  the  world  beside, 
So  dark  the  tempests  and  so  wild  the  tide, 
That  Greece  and  Tyre  and  all  who  tempt  the  sea 
Have  shunn'd  the  task  and  left  the  fame  to  me. 

When  first  thy  roving  race,  the  Power  replied, 
Learn'd  by  the  stars  the  devious  sail  to  guide, 
From  stormy  Hellespont  explored  the  way 
And  sought  the  limits  of  the  Midland  sea,  1 5€ 

Before  Alcides  form'd  his  impious  plan- 
To  check  the  sail  and  bound  the  steps  of  man, 
This  hand  had  led  them  to  this  rich  abode 
And  braved  the  wrath  of  that  strong  demigod. 
Driven  from  the  Calpian  strait,  the  hapless  train 
Roird  on  the  waves  that  sweep  the  western  main; 
Storms  from  the  orient  blacken'd  heaven  with  shad?, 
Nor  sun  nor  stars  could  vield  their  wonted  aid. 


6S  C0LUMBIAD.  BOOK  U 

For  many  a  darksome  day  o'erwhelm'd  and  tost, 
Their  sails,  their  oars  in  swallowing  surges  lost,         160 
At  length,  the  clouds  withdrawn,  they  sad  descry 
Their  course  directing  from  their  native  sky. 
No  hope  remains;  far  onward  o'er  the  zone, 
The  tradewind  bears  them  with  the  circling  sun; 
Till  wreck'd  and  stranded  here,  the  sylvan  coast 
Receives  to  lonely  seats  the  suffering  host. 
The  fruitful  vales  invite  their  steps  to  roam 
Renounce  their  sorrows  and  forget  their  home; 
Revolving  years  their  ceaseless  wanderings  led, 
And  from  their  sons  descending  nations  spread.         170 

These  in  the  torrid  tracts  began  their  sway, 
Whose  cultured  fields  their  growing  arts  display. 
The  northern  tribes  a  later  stock  may  boast, 
A  race  descended  from  the  Asian  coast. 
High  in  the  arctic,  where  Anadir  glides, 
A  narrow  strait  the  impinging  worlds  divides; 
There  Tartar  fugitives  from  famine  sail, 
And  migrant  tribes  these  fruitful  shorelands  halL 

He  spoke;  when  Behren's  pass  before  them  lay,. 
And  moving  nations  on  the  margin  stray  1  SO 

Thick  swarming,  venturous;  sail  and  oar  they  ply, 
Climb  on  the  surge  and  o'er  the  billows  fly. 


BOOK  fl.  COLUMBIA!).  09 

As  when  autumnal  storms  awake  their  force 

The  storks  foreboding  tempt  their  southern  course, 

From  all  the  fields  collecting  throngs  arise, 

Mount  on  the  wing  and  crowd  along  the  skies, 

Thus,  to  his  eye,  from  bleak  Tartaria's  shore, 

Thro  isles  and  seas  the  gathering  people  pour, 

Change  their  cold  regions  for  a  happier  strand, 

Leap  from  the  wave  and  tread  the  welcome  land,       190 

In  growing  tribes  extend  their  southern  sway 

And  wander  wide  beneath  a  warmer  day. 

But  why,  the  Chief  replied,  if  ages  past 
Led  the  bold  vagrants  to  so  mild  a  waste, 
If  human  souls  for  social  compact  given 
Inform  their  nature  with  the  stamp  of  heaven, 
Why  the  wild  woods  forever  must  they  rove, 
Nor  arts  nor  social  joys  their  passions  move? 
Long  is  the  lapse  of  ages,  since  thy  hand 
Conducted  here  thy  first  adventurous  band.  200 

On  other  shores,  in  every  eastern  clime, 
Since  that  unlettered,  distant  tract  of  time, 
What  arts  have  sprung,  imperial  powers  to  grace  1 
What  sceptres  sway'd  the  many-master'd  race! 
Guilt,  grandeur,  glory  from  their  seats  been  brarl'd, 
And  dire  divulsions  shook  the  changing  world! 


70  COLUMBIAN.  BOOK  II 

Ere  Rome's  first  Eagle  clave  the  frighted  air, 
Ere  Sparta  form'd  her  deathlike  sons  of  war, 
Ere  Tyre  and  Ilion  saw  their  towers  arise, 
Or  Memphian  pyramids  usurpt  the  skies,  21C 

These  tribes  have  forester  d  the  fruitful  zone, 
Their  seats  unsettled  and  their  name  unknown. 

Hesper  to  this  replied:  A  scanty  train 
In  that  far  age  approacht  the  wide  domain; 
The  wide  domain  with  game  and  fruitage  crowivd 
Supplied  their  food  uncultured  from  the  ground. 
By  nature  form'd  to  rove,  the  humankind, 
Of  freedom  fond,  will  ramble  uncon fined, 
Till  all  the  region  fills,  and  rival  right 
Restrains  their  steps  and  bids  their  force  unite;  22C 

When  common  safety  builds  a  common  cause, 
Conforms  their  interest  and  inspires  their  laws, 
By  mutual  checks  their  different  manners  blend, 
Their  fields  bloom  joyous  and  their  walls  ascend. 
Here  to  the  vagrant  tribes  no  bounds  arose, 
They  form'd  no  union,  as  they  fear'd  no  foes; 
Wandering  and  wild,  from  sire  to  son  they  stray 
A  thousand  ages,  scorning  every  sway. 
And  what  a  world  their  seatless  nations  led: 
A  total  hemisphere  around  them  spread;  220 


BOOK  11.  COLUMBIAD,  71 

See  the  lands  lengthen,  see  the  rivers  roll 
To  each  far  main,  to  each  extended  pole! 

But  lo  at  last  the  destined  course  is  run, 
The  realms  are  peopled  and  their  arts  begun. 
Where  yon  mid  region  elevated  lies, 
A  few  famed  cities  gJiUer  to  the  skies; 
There  move  in  eastern  pomp  the  toils  of  state 
And  temples  heave  magnificently  great. 

The  Hero  turn'd  to  greet  the  novel  sight, 
When  three  far  splendors,  yet  confusedly  bright,        240 
Rose  like  a  constellation;  till  more  near, 
Distinctly  markt  their  different  sites  appear^ 
Diverging  still,  beneath  their  roofs  of  gold, 
Three  cities  gay  their  mural  towers  unfold. 
So,  led  by  visions  of  his  guiding  God, 
The  seer  of  Patmos  o'er  the  welkin  trod, 
Saw  the  new  heaven  its  flamy  cope  unbend 
And  walls  and  gates  and-spiry  domes  descend; 
His  well  known  sacred  city  grows  and  gains 
Her  new  built  towers,  her  renovated  fanes;  250 

With  golden  skies  and  suns  and  rainbows  crown'd 
Jerusalem  looks  forth  and  lights  the  world  around. 

Bright  on  the  north  imperial  Mexic  rose, 
A  mimic  mom  her  sparkling  vanes  disclose. 


72  COLUMBIA®.  BOOK  II. 

Her  opening  streets  concentred  hues  display, 

Give  back  the  sun  and  shed  internal  day; 

The  circling  wall  with  guardian  turrets  frown'd 

And  look'd  defiance  to  the  realms  around; 

A  glimmering  lake  without  the  wall  retires, 

Inverts  the  towers  and  seems  a  grove  of  spires.  260 

Proud  o'er  the  midst,  on  columns  lifted  high, 
A  giant  structure  claims  a  loftier  sky; 
O'er  the  tall  gates  sublimer  arches  bend, 
Courts  larger  lengthen,  bolder  walks  ascend, 
Starr'd  with  superior  gems  the  porches  shine 
And  speak  the  royal  residence  within. 
There,  deck'd  in  state  robes  on  his  golden  throne 
Mid  suppliant  kings,  dread  Montezuma  shone; 
Miid  in  his  eye  a  tempered  grandeur  sate, 
High  seem'd  his  soul,  with  concious  power  elate;      270 
In  aspect  open,  social  and  serene, 
Inclosed  by  favorites  and  of  friends  unseen. 

Round  the  rich  throne,  in  various  lustre  dight. 
Gems  undistinguisht  cast  a  changing  light; 
Sapphire  and  emerald  soften  down  the  scene. 
Cold  azure  mingling  with  the  vernal  green, 
Pearl,  amber,  ruby  warmer  flames  unfold 
And  diamonds  brighten  from  the  burning  gold: 


BOOK  n.  COLUMBIAD,  7^ 

Thro  all  the  dome  the  living  blazes  blend 

And  shoot  their  rainbows  where  the  arches  bend. 

On  every  ceiling,  painted  light  and  gay, 

Symbolic  forms  their  graphic  art  display, 

Recording,  confident  of  endless  fame, 

Each  feat  of  arms,  each  patriarchal  name, 

Like  Memphian  hieroglyphs,13  to  stretch  the  span 

Of -memory  frail  in  momentary  man. 

Pour'd  thro  the  gates  a  hundred  nations  greet, 
Throng  the  rich  mart  and  line  each  ample  street, 
Ply  different  labors,  walls  and  structures  rear 
Or  till  the  fields  or  train  the  ranks  of  war.  29C 

Thro  spreading  states  the  skirts  of  empire  bend, 
New  temples  rise  and  other  plains  extend; 
Thrice  ten  wide  provinces,  in  culture  gay, 
Bless  tne  same  king  and  daily  firm  the  sway. 

A  smile  benignant  kindling  in  his  eyes. 
Oh  happy  realml  the  glad  Columbus  cries, 
Far  in  the  midland,  safe  from  every  foe, 

arts  shall  flourish  as  thy  virtues  grow. 
To  endless  years  thy  rising  fame  extend 
And  sires  of  nations  from  thy  sons  descend. 
May  no  gold-thirsty  r^ce  thy  temples  tread, 
Insult  thy  rites  nor  heap  thy  plains  with  dead; 
Vol.  I.  r; 


74  COLUMBIA©,  ROOK  IT. 

No  Bovaclilla  seize  the  tempting*  spoil, 
No  dark  Ovando,  no  religious  14  Boyle, 
In  mimic  priesthood  grave  or  robed  in  state, 
O'erwhelm  thy  glories  in  oblivious  fate! 

Vain  are  thy  hopes,  the  sainted  Power  replied 
These  rich  abodes  from  Spanish  hordes  to  hide, 
Or  teach  hard  guilt  and  cruelty  to  spare 
The  guardless  prize  of  sacrilegious  war.  5 1 0 

Think  not  the  vulture  mid  the  field  of  slain, 
Where  base  and  brave  promiscuous  strow  the  plain, 
Where  the  young  hero  in  the  pride  of  charms 
Pours  brighter  crimson  o'er  his  spotless  anus, 
Will  pass  the  tempting  prey  and  glut  his  rage 
On  harder  flesh  and  carnage  black  with  age; 
O'er  all  alike  he  darts  his  eager  eye, 
Whets  the  blunt  beak  and  hovers  down  the  sky. 
From  countless  corses  picks  the  dainty  food 
And  screams  and  fattens  in  the  purest  blood:  33? 

So  the  vile  hosts,  that  hither  trace  thy  way, 
On  happiest  tribes  with  fiercest  fury  prey. 
Thine  the  dread  task,  O  Cortez,  here  to  show 
What  unknown  crimes  can  heighten  human  wot, 
On  these  fair  fields  the  blood  of  realms  to  pour, 
Tread  sceptres  down  and  print  thy  steps'  in  gore. 


BOOK  n  COLUMBIAD.  ft 

With  gold  and  carnage  swell  thy  sateless  mind 
And  live  and  die  the  blackest  of  mankind. 

He  gains  the  shore.  Behold  his  fortress  rise, 
His  fleet  high  flaming  *5  suffocates  the  skies.  330 

The  march  begins;  the  nations  in  affright 
Quake  as  he  moves  and  wage  the  fruitless  fight; 
Thro  the  rich  provinces  he  bends  his  way, 
Kings  in  his  chain  and  kingdoms  for  his  prey. 
Full  on  the  imperial  town  infuriate  falls 
And  pours  destruction  o'er  its  batter'd  walls. 

In  quest  of  peace  great  Montezuma  stands. 
A  sovereign  supplicant  with  lifted  hands, 
Brings  all  his  treasure,  yields  the  regal  sway, 
Bids  vassal  millions  their  new  lord  obey,  340 

And  plies  the  victor  with  incessant  prayer,    . 
Thro  ravaged  realms  the  harmless  race  to  spare. 
But  treasures,  tears  and  sceptres  plead  in  vain, 
Nor  threats  can  move  him  nor  a  world  restrain: 
While  blind  religion's  prostituted  name 
And  monkish  fury  guide  the  sacred  flame. 
O'er  crowded  fanes  their  tires  unhallow'd  bend. 
Climb  the  wide  roofs,  the  lofty  towers  ascend, 
Pour  thro  the  lowering  skies  the  smoky  flood 
And  stain  the  fields  and  quench  the  blaze  in  blood. 


7&  COLUMBIA©.  BOOK  IT 

Columbus  heard;  and  with  a  heaving  sigh 
Dropt  the  full  tear  that  started  in  his  eye: 
Oh  hapless  day!  his  trembling  voice  replied, 
That  saw  my  wandering  pennon  mount  the  tide. 
Had  but  the  lamp  of  heaven  to  that  bold  sail 
Ne'er  markt  the  passage  nor  awoke  the  gale, 
Taught  foreign  prows  these  peopled  shores  to  find 
Nor  led  those  tigers  forth  to  fang  mankind; 
Then  had  the  tribes  beneath  these  bounteous  skies 
Seen  their  walls  widen  and  their  harvests  rise.  360 

Down  the  long  tracts  of  time  their  glory  shone, 
Broad  as  the  day  and  lasting  as  the  sun; 
The  growing  realms,  behind  thy  shield  that  rest 
Paternal  monarch,  still  thy  power  had  blest, 
Enjoy'd  the  pleasures  that  surround  thy  throne, 
Survey'd  thy  virtues  and  improved  their  own. 

Forgive  me  prince,  this  luckless  arm  hath  led 
The  storm  unseen  that  hovers  o'er  thy  head; 
Taught  the  dark  sons  of  slaughter  where  to  roam, 
To  seize  thy  crown  and  seal  the  nation's  doom.  370* 

Arm,  sleeping  empire,  meet  the  murderous  band, 
Drive  back  the  invaders,  save  the  sinking  land — 
But  vain  the  call!  behold  the  streaming  blood! 
Forgive  me  nature,  and  forgive  me  Gocl 


BOOK  II  COM. Ml..  77 

While  sorrows  thus  his  patriarch  pride  control. 
Hesper  reproving  sooths  his  tender  soul: 
Father  of  this  new  world,  thy  tears  give  o'er, 
Let  virtue  grieve  and  heaven  be  blamed  no  more. 
Enough  for  man,  with  persevering  mind, 
To  act  his  part  and  strive  to  bless  his  kind.  "SQ 

Enough  for  thee  o'er  thy  dark  age  to  soar 
And  raise  to  light  that  long-secluded  shore. 
For  this  my  guardian  care  thy  youth  inspired. 
To  virtue  rear'd  thee  and  with  glory  fired, 
Bade  in  thy  plan  each  distant  world  unite 
And  wing'd  thy  vessel  for  the  venturous  flight. 

Nor  think  the  labors  vain;  to  good  they  tend^ 
Tyrants  like  these  shall  ne'er  defeat  their  end; 
Their  end  that  opens  far  beyond  the  scope 
Of. man's  past  efforts  and  his  present  hope.  i      390 

Long  has  thy  race,  to  narrow  shores  confined, 
Trod  the  same  round  that  fetter'd  fast  the  mind; 
Now  borne  on  bolder  plumes,  with  happier  flight, 
The  world's  broad  bounds  unfolding  to  the  sight, 
The  mind  shall  soar;  the  coming  age  expand 
Their  arts  and  lore  to  every  barbarous  land; 
And  buried  gold,  drawn  copious  from  the  mine* 
Give  wings  to  commerce  and  the  world  refine- 

G3 


78  LOfcUMBIAD.  BOOK  II. 

Now  to  yon  southern  cities  turn  thy  view 
And  mark  the  rival  seats  of  rich  Peru.  40C 

See  Quito's  airy  plains,  exalted  high, 
With  loftier  temples  rise  along  the  b] 
And  elder  Cusco's  shining  roofs  unfold, 
Flame  on  the  day  and  shed  their  suns  of  gold. 
Another  range,  in  these  pacific  climes, 
Spreads  a  broad  theatre  for  unborn  crimes; 
Another  Cortez  shall  their  treasures  view. 
His  rage  rekindle  and  his  guilt  renew; 
His  treason,  fraud  and  every  fell  design, 
O  curst  Pizarro,  shall  revive  in  thine.  416 

Here  reigns  a  prince,  whose  heritage  proclaims 
A  long  bright  lineage  of  imperial  names; 
Where  the  brave  roll  of  Incas  love  to  trace 
The  distant  father  of  their  realm  and  race. 
Immortal  Capac.  He  in  youthful  pride, 
With  young  Oella  his  illustrious  bride, 
Announced  their  birth  divine;  a  race  begun 
From  heaven,  the  children  of  their  god  the  Sod 
By  him  sent  forth  a  polisht  state  to  frame, 
Crush  the  fiend  gods  that  human  victims  claim,         480 
With  cheerful  rites  their  pure  devotions  pay 
To  the  brigh :  se  changing  dan 


BOOK  II.  CbLUMBlAD.  79 

On  this  great  plan,  as  children  of  the  skit-, 
They  plied  their  arts  and  saw  their  hamlets  rise. 
First  of  their  works,  and  sacred  to  their  lame, 
Yon  proud  metropolis  received  its  name, 
Cusco  the  seat  of  states,  in  peace  design'd 
To  reach  o'er  earth  and  cnilize  mankind. 
Succeeding  sovereigns  spread  their  limits  far. 
Tamed  every  tribe  and  sooth'd  the  rage  of  war;  43$ 

Till  Quito  bow'd;  and  all  the  heliac  zone 
Felt  the  same  sceptre  and  confirm'd  the  throne. 

Near  disco's  walls,  where  still  their  hallow'd  isle 
Bathes  in  its  lake  and  wears  its  verdant  smile, 
Where  these  prime  parents  of  the  sceptred  line 
Their  advent  made  and  spoke  their  birth  divine^ 
Behold  their  temple  stand;  its  glittering  spires 
Light  the  glad  waves  and  aid  their  father's  fires. 
Archt  in  the  walls  of  gold,  its  portal  gleams 
With  various  gems  of  intermingling  beams;  440 

And  flaming  from  the  front,  with  borrow'd  ray, 
A  diamond  circlet  gives  the  rival  day; 
In  whose  bright  face  forever  looks  abroad 
The  labor'd  image  of  the  radiant  God. 
There  dwells  the  royal  priest,  whose  inner  shrine 
Conceals  his  lore;  tis  there  his  voice  divine 


80  COLUMBIA!).  BOOK  II 

Proclaims  the  laws;  and  there  a  cloister'd  quire 
Of  holy  virgins  keep  the  sacred  fire. 

Columbus  heard;  and  curious  to  be  taught 
What  pious  fraud  such  wondrous  changes  wrought,  45(X 
Ask'd  by  what  mystic  charm,  in  that  dark  age, 
They  quell'd  in  savage  souls  the  barbarous  rage* 
By  leagues  of  peace  combined  a  wide  domain 
And  taught  the  virtues  in  their  laws  to  reign. 

Long  is  the  tale;  but  tho  their  labors  rest 
By  years  obscured, 1T  in  flowery  fiction  drest, 
My  voice,  said  Hesper,  shall  revive  their  name 
And  give  their  merits  to  immortal  fame. 
Led  by  his  father's  wars,  in  early  prime 
Young  Capac  left  his  native  northern  clime;  460 

The  clime  where  Quito  since  hath  rear'd  her  fanes, 
And  now  no  more  her  barbarous  rites  maintains. 
He  saw  these  vales  in  richer  blooms  array'd 
And  tribes  more  numerous  haunt  the  woodland  shade. 
vSaw  rival  clans  their  local  gods  adore, 
Their  altars  staining  with  their  children's  gore, 
Yet  markt  their  reverence  for  the  Sun,  whose  beam 
Proclaims  his  bounties  and  his  power  supreme; 
Who  sails  in  happier  skies,  diffusing  good, 
Demands  no  victim  and  receives  no  blood.  470 


Book  ft.  columbiad.  &l 

In  peace  return'd  with  his  victorious  sire, 
New  charms  of  glory  all  his  soul  inspire; 
To  conquer  nations  on  a  different  plan 
•\nd  build  his  greatness  on  the  good  of  man. 

By  nature  form'd  for  hardiest  deeds  of  fame* 
Tall,  bold  and  full  proportion'd  rose  his  frame; 
Strong  moved  his  limbs;  a  mild  majestic  grace 
Beam'd  from  his  eyes  and  open'd  in  his  face; 
O'er  the  dark  world  his  mind  superior  shone 
And  seem'd  the  semblance  of  his  parent  Sun.  48$ 

But  tho  fame's  airy  visions  lift  his  eyes. 
And  future  empires  from  his  labors  rise, 
Yet  softer  fires  his  daring  views  control 
And  mixt  emotions  fill  his  changing  soul. 
Shall  genius  rare  that  might  the  world  improve 
Bend  to  the  milder  voice  of  careless  love 
That  bounds  his  glories  and  forbids  to  part 
From  bowers  that  woo'd  his  fluctuating  heart: 
Or  shall  the  toils,  imperial  heroes  claim, 
Fire  his  brave  bosom  with  a  patriot  flame,  490 

Bid  sceptres  wait  him  on  Peru  via' s  shore 
And  loved  Oella  meet  his  eyes  no  more? 

Still  unresolved  he  sought  the  lonely  maid     . 
Who  plied  her  labors  in  the  silvan  shade: 


82  COLUMBIA!!.  BOOK  IE 

Her  locks  loose  rolling  mantle  deep  her  breast 
And  wave  luxuriant  round  her  slender  waist; 
Gay  wreaths  of  flowers  her  pensive  brows  adorn 
And  her  white  raiment  mocks  the  light  of  morn; 
Her  busy  hand  sustains  a  bending  bough 
Where  cotton  clusters  spread  their  robes  of  snow, 
From  opening  pods  unbinds  the  fleecy  store 
And  culls  her  labors  for  the  evening  bower. 

For  she,  the  first  in  all  Hesperia,  fed 
The  turning  spindle  with  the  twisting  thread; 
The  woof,  the  shuttle  follow'd  her  command, 
Till  various  garments  grew  beneath  her  hand. 
And  now,  while  all  her  thoughts  with  Capac  rave 
Thro  former  scenes  of  kmocence  and  love, 
In  distant  fight  his  fancied  dangers  share 
Or  wait  him  glorious  from  the  finisht  wan  5*° 

Blest  with  the  ardent  hope,  her  sprightly  mind 
A  vesture  white  had  for  the  prince  design'd; 
And  here  she  seeks  the  wool  to  web  the  fleet  t , 
The  sacred  emblem  of  returning  peace. 

Sudden  his  near  approach  the  maid  alarms; 
He  flew  enraptured  to  her  yielding  arms 
And  lost,  dissolving  in  a  softer  flame, 
His  distant  empire  and  the  fire  of  fame. 


BOOK  II.  COLUMBIA!*  S3 

At  length,  retiring  thro  the  homeward  field, 

Their  glowing  souls  to  cooler  converse  yield;  520 

O'er  various  scenes  of  blissful  life  thy  ran, 

When  thus  the  warrior  to  the  maid  began: 

Long  have  we  markt  the  inauspicious  reign 
That  wraits  our  sceptre  in  this  rough  domain; 
A  soil  ungrateful  and  a  wayward  race, 
Their  game  but  scanty  and  confined  their  space. 
Where  late  my  steps  the  southern  war  pursued, 
The  fertile  plains  grew  boundless  as  I  view'd; 
More  numerous  nations  trod  the  grassy  wild 
And  joyous  nature  more  delightful  smiled.  5  SO 

No  changing  seasons  there  the  flowers  deform, 
No  dread  volcano  and  no  mountain  storm; 
Rains  ne'er  invade  nor  livid  lightnings  play 
Nor  clouds  obscure  the  radiant  king  of  day, 
But  while  his  orb,  in  ceaseless  glory  bright, 
Rolls  the  rich  day  and  fires  his  stars  by  night, 
Unbounded  fulness  Sows  beneath  his  reign, 
Seas  yield  their  treasures,  fruits  adorn  the  plain; 
His  melting  mountains  spread  their  annual  flood, 
Night  sheds  her  dews,  the  day -breeze  fans  the  god.   540 
Tis  he  inspires  me  with  the  vast  design 
To  form  those  nations  to  a  swav  divine; 


84  30UJMBIAI*.  BOOK 

Destroy  the  rights  of  every  demon  Power, 
Whose  altars  smoke  with  sacrilegious  gore; 
To  laws  and  labor  teach  the  tribes  tc  yield 
And  richer  fruits  to  grace  the  cultured  field. 

But  great,  my  charmer,  is  the  task  of  fame. 
Their  faith  to  fashion  and  their  lives  to  tame; 
Full  many  a  spacious  wild  these  eyes  must  see 
Spread  dreary  bounds  between  my  love  and  me;         5 
And  yon  bright  godhead  circle  thrice  the  year, 
Each  lonely  evening  number'd  with  a  tear. 
Long  robes  of  white18  my  shoulders  must  embrace^ 
To  speak  my  lineage  of  etherial  race; 
That  simple  men  may  reverence  and  obey 
The  radiant  offspring  of  the  Power  of  day. 

When  these  my  deeds  the  faith  of  nations  gain, 
And  happy  millions  bless  thy  Capac's  reign, 
Then  shall  he  feign  a  journey  to  the  Sun, 
To  bring  the  partner  of  his  well  earn'd  throne;  5 

So  shall  descending  kings  the  line  sustain, 
Till  earth's  whole  regions  join  the  vast  domain. 

Will  then  my  fair,  at  my  returning  hour, 
Forsake  these  wilds  and  hail  a  happier  bower?  i 
Will  she  consenting  now  resume  her  smiles. 
Send  forth  her  warrior  to  his  glorious  toils, 


BOOK  11  COLUMBIA  Fi  %f 

-And,  sweetly  patient,  wait  the  flight  of  days 
That  crown  our  labors  with  immortal  praise? 

Silent  the  damsel  heard;  her  moistening  eye 
Spoke  the  full  soul  nor  could  her  voice  reply,  570 

Till  softer  accents  sooth'd  her  wounded  ear, 
Composed  her  tumult  and  allay'd  her  fear. 
Think  not,  heroic  maid,  my  steps  would  part 
While  silent  sorrows  heave  that  tender  heart. 
Oella's  peace  more  dear  shall  prove  to  me 
Than  all  the  realms  that  bound  the  raging  sea; 
Nor  thou,  bright  Sun,  shall  bribe  my  soul  to  rest 
And  leave  one  struggle  in  her  lovely  breast. 

Yet  think  in  tribes  so  vast,  my  gentle  fair* 
What  millions  merit  our  instructive  care;  580 

How  age  to  age  leads  on  their  joyless  gloom, 
Habitual  slaughter  their  poor  piteous  doom. 
No  social  ties  their  wayward  passions  prove, 
Nor  peace  nor  pleasure  treads  the  howling  grove ; 
Mid  thousand  heroes  and  a  thousand  fair 
No  fond  Oella  meets  her  Capac  there. 
Yet,  taught  by  thee  domestic  joys  to  prize, 
With  softer  charms  the  virgin  race  shall  rise, 
Awake  new  virtues,  every  grace  improve 
And  form  their  minds  for  happiness  and  love.  590 

Vol.1^  H 


86  COLUMBIA!).  BOOK  II. 

Ah  think,  as  future  years  thro  time  descend, 
What  wide  creations  on  thy  voice  depend; 
And,  like  the  Sun  whose  all-delighting  ray 
To  those  mild  regions  gives  his  purest  day, 
Diffuse  thy  bounties,  let  me  instant  fly; 
In  three  short  moons  the  generous  task  I'll  try, 
Then  swift  returning,  I'll  conduct  my  fair 
Where  realms  submissive  wait  her  fostering  care. 

And  will  my  prince,  my  Capac,  borne  away 
Thro  those  dark  wilds  in  quest  of  empire  stray,  600 

Where  tigers  fierce  command  the  shuddering  wood 
And  men  like  tigers  thirst  for  human  blood? 
Thinkst  thou  no  dangerous  deed  the  course  attends 
Alone,  unaided  by  thy  sire  and  friends? 
Even  chains  and  death  may  meet  my  hero  there 
Nor  his  last  groan  could  reach  (Delia's  ear. 

But  no!  nor  death  nor  chains  shall  Capac  prove 
Unknown  to  her,  while  she  has  power  to  rove. 
Close  by  thy  side,  where'er  thy  wanderings  stray. 
My  equal  steps  shall  measure  all  the  way;  61Q 

With  borrow 'd  soul  each  chance  of  fate  I'll  dare, 
Thy  toils  to  lessen  and  thy  dangers  share. 
Quick  shall  my  ready  hand  two  garments  weave, 
Whose  sunny  whiteness  shall  the  tribes  deceit 


UOOk  a  IAD.  87 

Thus  clad,  their  homage  shall  secure  our  sway 
And  hail  us  children  of  the  god  of  day. 

The  lovely  counsel  pleased.  The  smiling  chief 
Approved  her  courage  and  dispell'd  her  grief; 
Then  to  their  homely  bower  in  haste  they  move, 
Begin  their  labors  and  prepare  to  rove.  620 

Soon  grow  the  robes  beneath  her  forming  care 
And  the  fond  parents  wed  the  wondrous  pair; 
But,  whelm' d  in  grief  beheld,  the  following  dawn, 
Their  joys  all  vanisht  and  their  children  gone. 
Nine  days  they  marcht;  the  tenth  effulgent  morn 
Sawr  their  white  forms  that  sacred  isle  adorn. 
The  wrork  begins;  they  preach  to  every  band 
The  well  form'd  fiction  and  their  faith  demand; 
With  various  miracles  their  powers  display, 
To  prove  their  lineage  and  confirm  their  sway.  630 

They  form  to  different  arts  the  hand  of  toil, 
To  whirl  the  spindle  and  to  spade  the  soil; 
The  Sun's  bright  march  with  pious  finger  trace 
And  his  pale  sister  wdth  her  changing  face ; 
Show  how  their  bounties  clothe  the  labor'd  plain, 
The  green  maiz  shooting  from  its  golden  grain, 
How  the  wrhite  cotton  tree's  expanding  lobes 
File  into  threacjs  and  swell  to  fleecy  robes; 


88  CO'LUMBIAD.  BOOK  B. 

While  the  tamed  llama  aids  the  wondrous  plan 

And  lends  his  garment  to  the  loins  of  man.  640 

The  astpnisht  tribes  believe,  with  glad  surprise. 
The  gods  descended  from  the  favoring  skies, 
Adore  their  persons  robed  in  shining  white, 
Receive  their  laws  and  leave  each  horrid  rite, 
Build  with  assisting  hands  the  golden  throne 
And  hail  and  bless  the  sceptre  l0  of  the  Sun, 


THE 


COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  III. 


ARGUMENT. 

Actions  of  the  Inca  Capac.  A  general  invasion  of  his 
dominions  threatened  by  the  mountain  savages.  Rocha* 
the  Inea's  son,  sent  with  a  few  companions  to  offer  terms 
of  peace.  His  embassy.  His  adventure  with  the  worship- 
pers of  the  volcano.  With  those  of  the  storm,  on  the 
Andes.  FaHs  in  with  the  savage  armies.  Character  and 
speech  of  Zamor,  their  chief.  Capture  of  Rocha  and  his 
companions.  Sacrifice  of  the  latter.  Death  song  of  Azonto. 
War  dance.  March  of  the  savage  armies  down  the  moun- 
tains to  Peru.  Incan  army  meets  them.  Battle  joins.  Pe- 
ruvians terrified  by  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  and  routed.  They 
fly  to  Cusco.  Grief  of  Oella,  supposing  the  darkness  to  be* 
occasioned  by  the  death  of  Rocha,  Sun  appears.  Peruvians 
from  the  city  wralls  discover  Rocha  on  an  altar  in  the 
savage  camp.  They  march  in  haste  out  of  the  city  and 
engage  the  savages.  Exploits  of  Capac.  Death  of  Zamor, 
Recovery  of  Rocha  and  submission  of  the  enemy. 


I 


fhe 

COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  IIL 

-Now  twenty  years  these  children  of  the  skies 
Beheld  their  gradual  growing  empire  rise* 
They  ruled  with  rigid  but  with  generous  care,_ 
Diffused  their  arts  and  soeth'd  the  rage  of  war* 
Bade  yon  tall  temple  20  grace  their  favorite  isle. 
The  mines  unfold,  the  cultured  vallies  smile, 
Those  broad  foundations  bend  their  arches  high 
And  rear  imperial  Cusco  to  the  sky; 
Wealth,  wisdom,  force  consolidate  the  reign 
From  the  rude  Andes  to  the  western  main.  10 

But  frequent  inroads  from  the  savage  bands 
Lead  fire  and  slaughter  o'er  the  labor'd  lands; 
They  sack  the  temples,  the  gay  fields  deface 
And  vow  destruction  to  the  Incan  race. 


92  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  III. 

The  king,  undaunted  in  defensive  war, 
Repels  their  hordes  and  speeds  their  flight  afar. 
Stung  with  defeat,  they  range  a  wider  wood 
And  rouse  fresh  tribes  for  future  fields  of  blood. 

"Where  yon  blue  ridges  hang  their  cliffs  on  high 
And  suns  infulminate  the  stormful  sky,  20 

The  nations,  temper'd  to  the  turbid  air, 
Breathe  deadly  strife  and  sigh  for  battle's  blare; 
Tis  here  they  meditate,  with  one  vast  blow, 
To  crush  the  race  that  rules  the  plains  below. 
Capac  with  caution  views  the  dark  design, 
Learns  from  all  points  what  hostile  myriads  join, 
And  seeks  in  time  by  proffer'd  leagues  to  gain 
A  bloodless  victory  and  enlarge  his  reign. 

His  eldest  hope,  young^Rocha,  at  his  call, 
Resigns  his  charge21  within  the  temple  wall;  30 

In  whom  began,  with  reverend  forms  of  awe, 
The  functions  grave  of  priesthood  and  of  law. 

In  early  youth,  ere  yet  the  ripening  sun 
Had  three  short  lustres  o'er  his  childhood  run, 
The  prince  had  learnt,  beneath  his  father's  hand, 
The  well  framed  code  that  swayM  the  sacred  land; 
With  rites  mysterious  served  the  Power  divine. 
Prepared  the  altar  and  adom'd  the  shrine. 


BOOK  III.  COLUafBIAD» 

Responsive  hail'd,  with  still  returning  praise, 

Each  circling  season  that  the  god  displays,  40 

Sooth'd  with  funereal  hymns  the  parting  dead, 

At  nuptial  feasts  the  joyful  chorus  led; 

While  evening  incense  and^the  morning  song- 

Rose  from  his  hand  or  trembled  on  his  tongue. 

Thus  form'd  for  empire  ere  he  gain'd  the  sway, 
i 
To  rule  with  reverence  and  with  power  obey, 

Reflect  the  glories  of  the  parent  Sun 

And  shine  the  Capac  of  his  future  throne 

Employ'd  his  docile  years;  till  now  from  far 

The  rumor'd  leagues  proclaim  approaching  war;         5,6 

Matured  for  active  scenes  he  quits  the  shrine, 

To  aid  in  council  or  in  arms  to  shine. 

Amid  the  chieftains  that  the  court  compose, 

In  modest  mien  the  stripling  pontiff  rose, 

With  reverence  bow'd,  conspicuous  o'er  the  restv 

Approacht  the  throne  and  thus  the  sire  addrest: 

Great  king  of  nations,  heaven-descended  sage, 

Thy  second  heir  has  reacht  the  destined  age 

To  take  these  priestly  robes;  to  his  pure  hand 

I  yield  them  pure  and  wait  thy  kind  command.  SO 

Should  foes  invade,  permit  this  arm  to  share 

The  toils*  the  triumphs,  every  chance  of  war: 


94  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  IV, 

For  this  dread  conflict  all  our  force  demands, 

In  one  wide  field  to  whelm  the  brutal  bands, 

Pour  to  the  mountain  gods  their  wonted  food 

And  save  thy  realms  from  future  leagues  of  blood. 

Yet  oh,  may  sovereign  mercy  first  ordain 

Propounded  compact  to  the  savage  train. 

I'll  go  with  terms  of  peace  to  spread  thy  sway 

And  teach  the  blessings  of  the  god  of  day.  70 

The  sire  returned:  My  great  desire  you  know, 
To  shield  from  slaughter  and  preserve  the  foe, 
In  bands  of  concord  all  their  tribes  to  bind 
And  live  the  friend  and  guardian  of  mankind. 
Should  strife  begin,  thy  youthful  arm  shall  share 
The  toils  of  glory  thro  the  walks  of  war; 
But  o'er  their  hills  to  seek  alone  the  foes, 
To  gain  their  confidence  or  brave  their  blows, 
Bend  their  proud  souls  to  reason's  voice  divine, 
Claims  hardier  limbs  and  riper  years  than  thine.  80 

Yet  one  of  heavenly  race  the  task  requires, 
Whose  mystic  rites  control  the  solar  fires; 
So  the  sooth'd  godhead  proves  to  faithless  eyes 
His  love  to  man,  his  empire  of  the  skies. 

Some  veteran  chief,  in  those  rough  labors  tried, 
Shall  aid  thee  on  and  go  thy  faithful  guide; 


BOOK  III.  COLUMBIAD.  Do 

O'er  dreary  heights  thy  sinking  limbs  sustain, 

Teach  the  dark  wiles  of  each  insidious  train, 

Thro  all  extremes  of  life  thy  voice  attend, 

In  counsel  lead  thee  or  in  arms  defend.  90 

And  three  firm  youths,  thy  chosen  friends,  shall  go 

To  learn  the  climes  and  meditate  the  foe; 

That  wars  of  future  years  their  skill  may  find, 

To  serve  the  realm  and  save  the  savage  kind. 

Rise  then  my  son,  first  partner  of  my  fame, 
With  early  toils  to  build  thy  sacred  name; 
In  high  behest,  for  his  own  legate  known, 
Proclaim  the  bounties  of  our  sire  the  Sun. 
Tell  how  his  fruits  beneath  our  culture  rise, 
His  stars,  how  glorious,  gem  our  cloudless  skies;       LOC 
And  how  to  us  his  hand  hath  kindly  given 
His  peaceful  laws,  the  purest  grace  of  heaven, 
With  power  to  widen  his  terrestrial  sway 
And  give  our  blessings  where  he  gives  the  day. 
Yet,  should  the  stubborn  nations  still  prepare 
The  shaft  of  slaughter  for  the  barbarous  war, 
Tell  them  we  know  to  tread  the  crimson  plain. 
And  god's  own  children  never  yield  to  man. 

But  ah,  my  child,  with  steps  of  caution  go, 
The  ways  are  hideous  and  enraged  the  foe;  1 10 


96  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  in. 

Blood  stains  their  altars,  all  their  feasts  are  blood, 
Death  iheir  delight  and  darkness  reigns  their  go<r; 
Tigers  and  vultures,  storms  and  earthquakes  share 
Their  rites  of  worship  and  their  spoils  of  war. 
Shouldst  thou,  my  Rocha,  tempt  too  far  their  ire, 
Should  those  dear  relics  feed  a  murderous  fire, 
Deep  sighs  would  rend  thy  wretched  mother's  breast, 
The  pale  Sun  sink  in  clotids  of  darkness  drest? 
Thy  sire  and  mournful  nations  rue  the  day 
That  drew  thy  steps  from  these  sad  walls  away.         120 

Yet  go;  tis  virtue  calls;  and  realms  unknown, 
Won  by  these  works,  may  bless  thy  future  throne; 
Millions  of  unborn  souls  in  time  may  see 
Their  doom  reversed  and  owe  their  peace  to  thee; 
Deluded  sires  with  murdering  hands  no  more 
Feed  fancied  demons  with  their  children's  gore, 
But,  sway'd  by  happier  sceptres,  here  behold 
The  rites  of  freedom  and  the  shrines  of  gold. 
Be  wise,  be  mindful  of  thy  realm  and  throne; 
God  speed  thy  labors  and  preserve  my  son!  150 

Soon  the  glad  prince,  in  robes  of  white  array'd, 
Call'd  his  attendants  and  the  sire  obey'd; 
A  diamond  broad,  in  burning  gold  imprest, 
Display'd  the  sun's  bright  image  on  his  breast; 


BOOK  III,  COLUMBIA!)  97 

A  pcarl-dropt  girdle  bound  his  waist  below, 

And  the  white  lautu22  graced  his  lofty  brow. 

They  journey'd  forth,  o'ermarching  far  the  mound 

That  flank'd  the  kingdom  on  its  Andean  bound; 

Ridge  after  ridge  thro  vagrant  hordes  they  past, 

Where  each  new  tribe  seem'd  wilder  than  the  last;   140 

To  all  they  preach  and  prove  the  solar  sway 

And  climb  fresh  mountains  on  their  tedious  way. 

At  length,  as  thro  disparting  clouds  they  riscr 

And  hills  above  them  still  obstruct  the  skies, 

While  a  dead  calm  o'er  all  the  region  stood 

And  not  a  leaf  could  fan  its  parent  wood, 

Sudden  a  strange  portentous  noise  began; 

The  birds  fled  wild,  the  beasts  for  shelter  ran, 

Slow,  sullen,  loud,  with  deep  astounding  blare. 

Swell  the  strong  tones  of  subterranean  war;  150 

Behind,  before,  beneath  them  groans  the  ground, 

Earth  heaves  and  labors  with  the  shuddering  sound; 

Columns  of  smoke,  that  cap  the  rumbling  height, 

Roll  reddening  far  thro  heaven  and  choke  the  light; 

From  tottering  steeps  descend  their  cliffs  of  snow. 

The  mountains  reel,  the  vallies  rend  below; 

The  headlong  streams  forget  their  usual  round 

And  shrink  and  vanish  m  the  gaping  ground- 
Vol.  I.  T 


98  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  III* 

The  sun  descends;  but  night  recals  in  vain 

Her  silent  shades,  to  recommence  her  reign;  160 

The  bursting  mount  gapes  high,  a  sudden  glare 

Coruscates  wide,  till  all  the  purpling  air 

Breaks  into  flame;  it  wheels  and  roars  and  raves 

And  wraps  the  welkin  in  its  folding  waves. 

Light  sailing  cinders,  thro  its  vortex  driven, 

Stream  high  and  brighten  to  the  midst  of  heaven; 

And,  following  slow,  full  floods  of  boiling  ore 

Swell,  swoop  aloft  and  thro  the  concave  roar. 

Torrents  of  molten  rocks,  on  every  side, 

Lead  o'er  the  shelves  of  ice  their  fiery  tide!  170 

Hills  slide  before  them,  skies  around  them  burn, 

Towns  sink  beneath  and  heaving  plains  upturn; 

O'er  many  a  league  the  flaming  deluge  hurl'd, 

Sweeps  total  nations  from  the  staggering  world, 

Meanwhile,  at  distance  thro  the  livid  light, 
A  busy  concourse  met  their  wondering  sight; 
The  prince  drew  near;  where  loi  an  altar  stood, 
Rude  in  its  form  and  fill'd  with  burning  wood; 
Wrapt  in  the  flames  a  youth  expiring  lay 
And  the  fond  father  thus  was  heard  to  pray:  180 

Receive,  O  dreadful  Power,  from  feeble  age. 
This  last  pure  offering23  to  thy  sateless  rage; 


BOOK  III.  COLUMBIAD.  99 

Thrice  has  thy  vengeance  on  this  hated  land 

Claim'd  a  dear  infant  from  my  yielding  hand; 

Thrice  have  those  lovely  lips  the  victim  prest, 

And  all  the  mother  ten  that  tender  breast; 

When  the  dread  duty  stifled  every  sigh 

And  not  a  tear  escaped  her  beauteous  eye. 

Our  fourth  and  last  now  meets  the  fatal  doom; 

Groan  not  my  child,  thy  god  remands  thee  home;     196 

Attend  once  more,  thou  dark  infernal  name, 

From  yon  far  streaming  pyramid  of  flame; 

Snatch  from  his  heaving  flesh  the  blasted  breathy 

Sacred  to  thee  and  all  the  fiends  of  death; 

Then  in  thy  hall,  with  spoils  of  nations  crown'd, 

Confine  thy  walks  beneath  the  rending  ground; 

No  more  on  earth  the  embowel'd  flames  to  pour, 

And  scourge  my  people  and  my  race  no  more. 

Thus  Rocha  heard;  and  to  the  trembling  crowd 
Turn'd  the  bright  image  of  his  beaming  god.  200 

The  afflicted  chief  with  fear  and  grief  opprest 
Beheld  the  sign  and  thus  the  prince  addrest: 
From  what  far  land,  O  royal  stranger,  say, 
Ascend  thy  wandering  steps  this  nightly  way? 
From  plains  like  ours,  by  holy  demons  fired? 
Have  thy  brave  people  ih^the  flames  expired? 


XOO  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  HI. 

And  hast  thou  now,  to  stay  the  whelming  flood, 
,  No  son  to  offer  to  the  furious  god? 

From  happier  lands  I  came,  the  prince  returns, 
Where  no  red  flaming  flood  the  concave  burns,         ?10 
No  furious  god  bestorms  our  soil  and  skies 
Nor  yield  our  hands  the  bloody  sacrifice; 
But  life  and  joy  the  Power  delights  to  give 
And  bids  his  children  but  rejoice  and  live. 
Thou  seest  thro  heaven  the  day -dispensing  Sun 
In  living  radiance  wheel  his  golden  throne, 
O'er  earth's  gay  surface  send  his  genial  beams, 
Eorce  from  yon  cliffs  of  ice  the  vernal  streams; 
While  fruits  and  flowers  adorn  the  cultured  field, 
And  seas  and  lakes  their  copious  treasures  yield:       220 
He  reigns  our  only  god.  In  him  we  trace 
The  friend,  the  father  of  our  happy  race. 
Late  the  lone  tribes,  on  those  unlabor'd  shores. 
Ran  wild  and  served  imaginary  powers; 
Till  he  in  pity  taught  their  feuds  to  cease, 
Devised  their  laws  and  fashion'd  all  for  peace. 
My  sacred  parents  first  the  reign  began, 
Sent  from  his  courts  to  guide  the  paths  of  man, 
To  plant  his  fruits,  to  manifest  his  sway 
And  give  their  blessings  where  he  gives  the  day.       239 


BOOK  IK  COLUMBIAN  101 

The  sachem  proud  replied:  Thy  garb  and 
Proclaim  thy  lineage  of  superior  race; 
And  our  progenitors,  no  less  than  thine, 
Sprang  from  a  god  and  own  a  birth  divine. 
From  that  sky-scorching  mount,  on  floods  of  flame? 
In  elder  times  my  great  forefathers  came; 
There  dwells  the  sire  and  from  his  dark  abode 
Oft  claims  as  now  the  tribute  of  a  god. 
This  victim  due  when  willing  mortals  pay,  * 

His  terrors  lessen  and  his  fires  decay;  240 

While  purer  sleet  regales  the  mountain  air, 
And  our  glad  hosts  are  fired  for  fiercer  war. 

Yet  know,  dread  chief,  the  pious  youth  rejoin'd, 

Some  one  prime  Power  produced  all  human  kind; 

Some  sire  supreme,  whose  ever  ruling  soul 

Creates,  preserves  and  regulates  the  whole. 

That  sire  supreme  must  roll  his  radiant  eye 

Round  the  wide  earth  and  thro  the  boundless  sky; 

That  all  their  habitants,  their  gods  and  men, 

May  rise  unveil'd  beneath  his  careful  ken.  250 

Could  thy  dark  fiend,  that  hides  his  blind  abode 

And  cauldrons  in  his  cave  that  fiery  flood, 

Yield  the  rich  fruits  that  distant  nations  find, 

Or  praise  or  punish  or  behold  mankind? 

I  2 


102  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  !If 

But  when  my  god,  resurging  from  the  night, 
Shall  gild  his  chambers  with  the  morning  light, 
By  mystic  rites  he'll  vindicate  his  throne 
And  own  thy  servant  for  his  duteous  son. 

Meantime,  the  chief  replied,  thy  cares  releast, 
Rest  here  the  night  and  share  our  scanty  feast;  260 

Which,  driven  in  hasty  rout,  our  train  supplied, 
When  trembling  earth  foretold  the  boiling  tide. 
They  fared,  they  rested;  till  with  lucid  horn 
All  cheering  Phosphor  led  the  lively  morn; 
The  prince  arose,  an  altar  rear'd  in  haste, 
And  watcht  the  splendors  of  the  reddening  east. 

As  o'er  the  mountain  flamed  the  sun's  broad  eye 
He  call'd  the  host,  his  holy  rites  to  try; 
Then  took  the  loaves  of  maiz,  the  bounties  brake, 
Gave  to  the  chief  and  bade  them  all  partake;  270 

The  hallow'd  relics  on  the  pile  he  placed, 
With  tufts  of  flowers  the  simple  offering  graced, 
Held  to  the  sun  the  image  from  his  breast, 
Whose  glowing  concave24  all  the  god  exprest; 
O'er  the  dried  leaves  the  rays  concentred  fly, 
And  thus  his  voice  ascends  the  listening  sky: 
O  thou,  whose  splendors  kindle  heaven  with  fire* 
Great  soul  of  nature,  man's  immortal  sire. 


HOOK  III.  -  OL1  MMAD.  MM 

If  e'er  my  father  found  thy  sovereign  grace, 

Or  thy  blest  will  ordain'd  the  Incan  race,  280 

Give  these  lorn  tribes  to  learn  thy  awful  name, 

Receive  this  offering  and  the  pile  inflame; 

So  shall  thy  laws  o'er  wider  bounds  be  known 

And  earth's  whole  race  be  happy  as  thy  own. 

Thus  pray'd  the  prince;  the  focal  flames  aspire,. 
The  mute  beholders  tremble  and  retirey 
Gaze  on  the  miracle,  full  credence  own 
And  vow  obedience  to  the  sacred  Sun. 

The  legates  now  their  further  course  descried, 
A  young  cazique  attending  as  a  guide,  290 

O'er  craggy  cliffs  pursued  their  eastern  wray, 
Trod  loftier  champaigns,  meeting  high  the  day, 
Saw  timorous  tribes  in  these  sublime  abodes 
Adore  the  blasts  and  turn  the  storms  to  gods; 
While  every  cloud  that  thunders  thro  the  skies 
Claims  from  their  hands  a  human  sacrifice. 
Awhile  the  youth,  their  better  faith  to  gain, 
Strives  with  his  usual  art,  but  strives  in  vain; 
In  vain  he  pleads  the  mildness  of  the  sun; 
A  gale  refutes  him  ere  his  speech  be  done;  300 

Continual  tempests  from  their  orient  blow 
And  load  the  mountains  with  eternal  snow. 


104  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  III 

The  sun's  own  beam,  the  timid  clans  declare, 

Drives  all  their  evils  on  the  tortured  air; 

He  draws  the  vapors  up  their  eastern  sky, 

That  sail  and  centre  round  his  dazzling  eye; 

Leads  the  loud  storms  along  his  midday  course 

And  bids  the  Andes  meet  their  sweeping  force; 

Builds  their  bleak  summits  with  an  icy  throne, 

To  shine  thro  heaven,  a  semblance  of  his  own;  310 

Hence  the  sharp  sleet,  these  lifted  lawns  that  wait, 

And  all  the  scourges  that  attend  their  state. 

Two  toilsome  days  the  virtuous  Inca  strove 
To  social  life  their  savage  minds  to  move; 
When  the  third  morning  glow'd  serenely  bright, 
He  led  their  elders  to  an  eastern  height; 
The  world  unlimited  beneath  them  lay 
And  not  a  cloud  obscured  the  rising  day. 
Vast  Amazonia,  starr'd  with  twinkling  streams, 
In  azure  drest,  a  heaven  inverted  seems; 
Dim  Paraguay  extends  the  aching  sight, 
Xaraya  glimmers25  like  the  moon  of  night. 
Land,  water,  sky  in  blending  borders  play 
And  smile  and  brighten  to  the  lamp  of  day. 
When  thus  the  prince:  What  majesty  divine! 
What  robes  of  gold!  what  flames  about  him  shinel 


BOOK  III.  COLUMBIA©.  105 

There  walks  the  god!  his  starry  sons  on  high 

Draw  their  dim  veil  and  shrink  behind  the  sky; 

Earth  with  surrounding  nature  's  born  anew, 

And  men  by  millions  greet  the  glorious  view.  330 

Who  can  behold  his  all  delighting  soul 

Give  life  and  joy,  and  heaven  and  earth  control, 

Bid  death  and  darkness  from  his  presence  move, 

Who  can  behold  and  not  adore  and  love? 

Those  plains,  immensely  circling,  feel  his  beams, 

He  greens  the  groves,  he  silvers  gay  the  streams, 

Swells  the  wild  fruitage,  gives  the  beast  his  food, 

And  mute  creation  hails  the  genial  god. 

But  richer  boons  his  righteous  laws  impart, 

To  aid  the  life  and  mold  the  social  heart,  3^ 

His  arts  of  peace  thro  happy  realms  to  spread, 

And  altars  grace  with  sacrificial  bread; 

Such  our  distinguisht  lot,  who  own  his  sway, 

Mild  as  his  morning  stars  and  liberal  as  the  day. 

His  unknown  laws,  the  mountain  chief  replied, 
May  serve  perchance  your  boasted  race  to  guide; 
And  yon  low  plains,  that  drink  his  partial  ray, 
At  his  glad  shrine  their  just  devotions  pay. 
But  we  nor  fear  his  frown  nor  trust  his  smile; 
Vain  as  our  prayers  is  every  anxious  toil:  350 


106  eOLUMBIAD.  BOOK  III 

Our  beasts  are  buried  in  his  whirls  of  snow, 
Our  cabins  drifted  to  his  slaves  below. 
Even  now  his  placid  looks  thy  hopes  beguile. 
He  lures  thy  raptures  with  a  morning  smile; 
But  soon  (for  so  those  saffron  robes  proclaim) 
His  own  black  tempest  shall  obstruct  his  flame, 
Storm,  thunder,  fire,  against  the  mountains  driven, 
Rake  deep  their  sulphur'd  sides,  disgorging  here  his  heaven 

He  spoke;  they  waited,  till  the  fervid  ray 
High  from  the  noontide  shot  the  faithless  day;  360 

When  lo,  far  gathering  under  eastern  skies. 
Solemn  and  slow,  the  dark  red  vapors  rise; 
r  till  clouds*  convolving  on  the  turbid  air, 
Move  like  an  ocean  to  the  watery  war. 
The  host,  securely  raised,  no  dangers  harm, 
They  sit  unclouded  and  o'erlook  the  storm; 
While  far  beneath,  the  sky-borne  waters  ride. 
Veil  the  dark  deep  and  sheet  the  mountain's  side; 
The  lightning's  glancing  fires  in  fury  curl'd 
Bend  their  long  forky  foldings  o'er  the  world;  370 

Torrents  and  broken  crags  and  floods  of  rain 
From  steep  to  steep  roll  down  their  force  amain 
In  dreadful  cataracts;  the  bolts  confound 
The  tumbling  clouds  and  rock  the  solid  ground. 


HOOK  IU.  COLT7MBIAD.  107 

The  blasts  unburden'd  take  their  upward  course 
And  o'er  the  mountain  top  resume  their  force. 
Swift  thro  the  long  white  ridges  from  the  north, 
The  rapid  whirlwinds  lead  their  terrors  forth; 
High  walks  the  storm,  the  circling  surge's  rise 
And  wild  gyrations  wheel  the  hovering  skies;  380 

Vast  hills  of  snow,  in  sweeping  columns  driven, 
Deluge  the  air  and  choke  the  void  of  heaven; 
Floods  burst  their  bounds,  the  rocks  forget  their  place> 
And  the  firm  Andes  tremble  to  their  base. 

Long  gazed  the  host;  when  thus  the  stubborn  chief, 
With  eyes  on  fire,  and  filPd  with  sullen  grief: 
Behold  thy  careless  god,  secure  on  high, 
Laughs  at  our  woes  and  peaceful  walks  the  sky, 
Drives  all  his  evils  on  these  seats  sublime 
And  wafts  his  favors  to  a  happier  clime;  390 

Sire  of  the  dastard  race  thy  words  disclose, 
There  glads  his  children,  here  afflicts  his  foes.* 
Hence!  speed  thy  flight!  pursue  him  where  he  leads, 
Lest  vengeance  seize  thee  for  thy  father's  deeds, 
Thy  immolated  limbs  assuage  the  fire 
Of  those  curst  powers,  who  now  a  gift  require. 
The  youth  in  haste  collects  his  scanty  train 
And  with  the  sun  flies  o'er  the  western  plain; 


108  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  III 

The  fading  orb  with  plaintive  voice  he  plies, 

To  guide  his  steps  and  light  him  down  the  skies.      400 

So  when  the  moon  and  all  the  host  of  even 

Hang  pale  and  trembling  on  the  verge  of  heaven, 

While  storms  ascending  threat  their  nightly  reign, 

They  seek  their  absent  sire  and  sink  below  the  main. 

Now  to  the  south  he  turns;  where  one  vast  plain 
Calls  from  a  hundred  hordes  the  warrior  train; 
Of  various  dress  and  various  form  they  show'd; 
Each  wore  the  ensign  of  his  local  god. 

From  eastern  hills  a  grisly  troop  descends, 
Whose  war  song  wild  the  shuddering  concave  rends;  410 
Cloked  in  a  tiger's  hide  their  grim  chief  towers 
And  apes  the  brinded  god  his  tribe  adores. 
The  tusky  jaws  grin  o'er  the  sachem's  brow, 
The  bald  eyes  glare,  the  paws  depend  below; 
From  his  bored  ears  contorted  serpents  hung, 
And  drops  of  gore  seem'd  rolling  on  his  tongue. 
The  northern  glens  pour  forth  the  Vulture-race; 
Brown  tufts  of  quills  their  shaded  foreheads  grace, 
The  claws  branch  wide,  the  beak  expands  for  blood, 
And  all  the  armor  imitates  the  god.  42C 

The  condor, 26  frowning  from  a  southern  plain, 
Borne  on  a  standard,  leads  a  numerous  train: 


BOOK  III.  COLUMBIAN  109 

Clencht  in  his  talons  hangs  an  infant  dead; 
His  long  bill  pointing  where  the  sachems  tread, 
His  wings  tho  lifeless  frighten  still  the  wind, 
And  his  broad  tail  o'ershades  the  file  behind. 
From  other  plains  and  other  hills  afar, 
The  tribes  throng  dreadful  to  the  promised  war; 
Some  twine  their  forelock  with  a  crested  snake, 
Some  wear  the  emblems  of  a  stream  or  lake;  430 

All  from  the  power  they  serve  assume  their  mode 
\nd  foam  and  yell  to  taste  the  Incan  blood. 

The  prince  incautious  with  his  men  drew  near? 
Known  for  an  Inca  by  his  dress  and  air; 
Till  coop'd  and  caught  amid  the  warrior  trains, 
They  bow  in  silence  to  the  victor's  chains. 
When  now  the  gather'd  thousands  throng  the  plain 
And  echoing  skies  the  rending  shouts  retain; 
Zamor,  the  chieftain  of  the  tiger-band, 
By  choice  appointed  to  the  first  command,  440 

Shrugg'd  up  his  brinded  spoils  above  the  rest 
\nd  grimly  frowning  thus  the  crowd  addrest: 

Warriors,  attend!  tomorrow  leads  abroad 
Our  sacred  vengeance  for  our  brothers'  blood. 
On  those  scorcht  plains  for  ever  must  they  lie, 
Their  bones  still  naked  to  the  burning  sky? 
Vol.  I.  <  K 


110  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  III. 

Left  in  the  field  for  foreign  hawks  to  tear 

Nor  our  own  vultures  can  the  banquet  share. 

But  soon,  ye  mountain  gods,  yon  dreary  west 

Shall  sate  your  hunger  with  an  ampler  feast;  450 

When  the  proud  Sun,  that  terror  of  the  plain, 

Shall  grieve  in  heaven  for  all  his  children  slain, 

As  o'er  his  realm  our  slaughtering  armies  roam 

And  give  to  your  sad  powers  a  happier  home. 

Meanwhile,  ye  tribes,  these  men  of  solar  race, 

Food  for  the  flames,  your  bloody  rites  shall  grace; 

Each  to  a  different  god  his  panting  breath 

Resigns  in  fire;  this  night  demands  their  death: 

All  but  the  Inca;  him  reserved  in  state 

These  conquering  hands  ere  long  shall  immolate      460 

To  all  the  powers  at  once  that  storm  the  skies, 

A  grateful  gift,  before  his  mother's  eyes. 

The  sachem  ceased;  the  chiefs  of  eveiy  race 
Lead  the  bold  captives  to  their  destined  place; 
The  sun  descends,  the  parting  day  expires, 
And  earth  and  heaven  display  their  sparkling  fires. 
Soon  the  raised  altars  kindle  round  the  gloom 
And  call  the  victims  to  their  vengeful  doom; 
Led  to  their  pyres,  in  sullen  pomp  they  tread 
.And  sing  by  turns  the  triumphs  of  the  dead,  470 


BOOK  III.  COLUMBIA!).  Ill 

Amid  the  crowd  beside  his  altar  stood 

The  youth  devoted  to  the  tiger-god; 

A  beauteous  form  he  rose,  of  noble  grace, 

The  only  hope  of  his  illustrious  race. 

His  aged  sire  for  numerous  years  had  shone 

The  first  supporter  of  the  Incan  throne; 

Wise  Capac  loved  the  youth  and  graced  his  hand 

With  a  fair  virgin  from  a  neighbouring  band; 

And  him  the  legate  prince,  in  equal  prime, 

Had  chose  to  share  his  mission  round  the  clime.       480 

He  mounts  the  pyre,  the  flames  approach  his  breath, 

And  thus  he  wakes  the  dauntless  song  of  death: 

Dark  vault  of  heaven,  that  greet  his  daily  throne^ 
Where  flee  the  glories  of  your  absent  Sun? 
Ye  stany  hosts,  who  kindle  from  his  eye, 
Can  you  behold  him  in  the  western  sky? 
Or  if  unseen  beneath  his  watery  bed, 
The  wearied  god  reclines  his  radiant  head, 
When  next  his  morning  steps  your  courts  inflame 
And  seek  on  earth  for  young  Azonto's  name,  490 

Then  point  these  ashes,  mark  the  smoky  pile 
And  say  the  hero  suffer'd  with  a  smile. 
So  shall  the  Power  in  vengeance  view  the  place, 
In  crimson  clothe 27  his  terror-beaming  face, 


112  COLUMBIA*).  BOOK  III 

Pour  swift  destruction  on  these  curst  abodes, 
Whelm  the  grim  tribes  and  all  their  savage  gods. 

But  ah,  forbear  to  tell  my  stooping  sire 
His  darling  hopes  have  fed  a  coward  fire; 
Why  should  he  know  the  tortures  of  the  brave? 
Why  fruitless  sorrows  bend  him  to  the  grave?  500 

Nor  shalt  thou  e'er  be  told,  my  bridal  fair, 
What  silent  pangs  these  panting  vitals  tear; 
But  blooming  still  the  patient  hours  employ 
On  the  blind  hope  of  future  scenes  of  joy. 
Now  haste,  ye  fiends  of  death;  the  sire  of  day 
In  absent  slumber  gives  your  malice  way; 
While  fainter  light  these  livid  flames  supply, 
And  shortlived  thousands  learn  of  me  to  die. 

He  ceased  not  speaking;  when  the  yell  of  war 
Drowns  all  their  death  songs  in  a  hideous  jar;  51$ 

The  cries  rebounding  from  the  hillsides  pour, 
And  wolves  and  tigers  catch  the  distant  roar 
Now  more  concordant  all  their  voices  join, 
And  round  the  plain  they  form  the  festive  line; 
When,  to  the  music  of  the  dismal  din, 
Indignant  Zamor  bids  the  dance  begin. 
Dim  thro  the  shadowy  fires  each  changing  fonv 
Moves  like  a  cloud  before  an  evening  storm. 


BOOK  III  COLUMBIAD.  1 1 3 

When  o'er  the  moon's  pale  face  and  starry  plain 

The  shifting  shades  lead  on  their  broken  train;  520 

The  mingling  tribes  their  mazy  gambols  tread, 

Till  the  last  groan  proclaims  the  victims  dead, 

Then  part  the  smoky  flesh,  enjoy  the  feast 

And  lose  their  labors  in  oblivious  rest. 

Soon  as  the  western  hills  announced  the  morn, 
And  falling  fires  were  scarcely  seen  to  burn, 
Grimm'd  by  the  horrors  of  the  dreadful  night, 
The  hosts  woke  fiercer  for  the  promised  fight; 
And  dark  and  silent  thro  the  frowning  grove, 
The  different  tribes  beneath  their  standards  move.    530 

Meantime  the  solar  king  collects  from  far 
His  martial  bands  to  meet  the  expected  war, 
Camps  on  the  confines  of  an  eastern  plain 
That  skirts  the  steep  rough  limit  of  his  reign; 
He  trains  their  ranks,  their  pliant  force  combines, 
To  close  in  columns  or  extend  in  lines, 
To  wheel,  change  front,  in  broken  files  dispart 
And  draw  new  strength  from  all  the  warrior's  art. 

But  now  the  rising  sun  relumes  the  plain 
And  calls  to  arms  the  well  accustom'd  train,  540 

High  in  the  front  imperial  Capac  strode 
In  fair  effulgence  like  the  beaming  god; 

K2 


114  Columbian  okdi 

A  golden  girdle  bound  his  snowy  vest, 
A  mimic  sun  hung  sparkling  on  his  breast; 
The  lautu's  horned  wreath  his  temples  twined, 
The  bow,  the  quiver  shade  his  waist  behind; 
Raised  high  in  air  his  golden  sceptre  burn'cU 
And  hosts  surrounding  trembled  as  he  tum'd. 

O'er  eastern  hills  he  cast  his  watchful  eye, 
Thro  the  broad  breaks  that  lengthen  down  the  sky; 
In  whose  blue  clefts  the  sloping  pathways  bend, 
Where  annual  floods  from  melting  snows  descend- 
Now  dry  and  deep,  they  lead  from  every  height 
The  savage  files  that  headlong  rush  to  fight; 
They  throng  and  thicken  thro  the  smoky  air, 
And  every  breach  pours  down  the  dusky  war. 
So  when  a  hundred  streams  explore  their  way 
Down  the  same  slopes,  convolving  to  the  sea, 
They  boil,  they  bend,  they  force  their  floods  amain, 
Swell  o'er  obstructing  crags  and  sweep  the  plain.      56i 

Capac  beholds  and  waits  the  coming  shock, 
As  for  the  billows  waits  the  storm-beat  rock; 
And  while  for  fight  his  ardent  troops  prepare, 
Thus  thro  the  ranks  he  breathes  the  soul  of  war. 
Ye  tribes  that  flourish  in  the  sun's  mild  reign, 
Long  have  your  flocks  adorn'd  the  peaceful  plain. 


HOOK  ill.  COLUMBIA!).  115 

As  o'er  the  realm  his  smiles  persuasive  ilowM 

And  conquer'd  all  without  the  stain  of  blood; 

But  lo,  at  last  that  wild  infuriate  band 

With  savage  war  demands  your  happy  land.  570 

Beneath  the  dark  immeasurable  host, 

Descending,  swarming,  how  the  crags  are  lost! 

Already  now  their  ravening  eyes  behold 

Your  star-bright  temples  and  your  gates  of  gold; 

And  to  their  gods  in  fancied  goblets  pour 

The  warm  libation  of  your  children's  gore. 

Move  then  to  vengeance,  meet  the  sons  of  blood, 

Led  by  this  arm  and  lighted  by  that  god; 

The  strife  is  fierce,  your  fanes  and  fields  the  prize; 

The  warrior  conquers  or  the  infant  dies.  580 

Fill'd  with  his  fire,  the  troops  in  squared  array 
Wait  the  wild  hordes  loose  huddling  to  the  fray; 
Their  pointed  arrows,  rising  on  the  bow, 
Look  up  the  sky  and  chide  the  lagging  foe. 

Dread  Zamor  leads  the  homicidious  train, 
Moves  from  the  clefts  and  stretches  o'er  the  plain. 
He  gives  the  shriek;  the  deep  convulsing  sound 
The  hosts  reecho,  and  the  hills  around 
Retain  the  rending  tumult;  all  the  air 

^s  in  the  conflict  of  the  clashing  war.  590 


110  COLUMBIAD  BOOK  III 

But  firm  undaunted  as  a  shelvy  strand 

That  meets  the  surge,  the  bold  Peruvians  stand? 

With  steady  aim  the  sounding  bowstring  ply, 

And  showers  of  arrows  thicken  thro  the  sky; 

When  each  grim  host,  in  closer  conflict  join'd, 

Clench  the  dire  ax  and  cast  the  bow  behind; 

Thro  broken  ranks  sweep  wide  their  slaughtering  course, 

Now  struggle  back,  now  sidelong  sway  the  force. 

Here  from  grim  chiefs  is  lopt  the  grisly  head; 

All  glide  the  dying,  all  deface  the  dead;  600 

There  scattering  o'er  the  field  in  thin  array, 

Man  tugs  with  man,  and  clubs  with  axes  play; 

With  broken  shafts  they  follow  and  they  fly, 

And  yells  and  groans  and  shouts  invade  the  sky; 

Round  all  the  shatter'd  groves  the  ground  is  strow'd 

With  sever'd  limbs  and  corses  bathed  in  blood. 

Long  raged  the  strife;  and  where  on  either  side 

A  friend,  a  father  or  a  brother  died, 

No  trace  remain'd  of  what  he  was  before, 

Mangled  with  horrid  wounds  and  black  with  gore.     610 

Now  the  Peruvians,  in  collected  might, 
With  one  wide  stroke  had  wing'd  the  savage  flight; 
But  their  bright  godhead,  in  his  midday  race, 
With  glooms  unusual  veil'd  his  radiant  face, 


COOK  TIL  COLUMBIA!).  117 

Quencht  all  his  beams,  tho  cloudless,  in  affright, 

As  loth  to  view  from  heaven  the  finisht  fight. 

A  trembling  twilight  o'er  the  welkin  moves, 

Browns  the  dim  void  and  darkens  deep  the  groves; 

The  waking  stars,  emboldeu'd  at  the  sight, 

Peep  out  and  gem  the  anticipated  night;  620 

Day-birds  and  beasts  of  light  to  covert  fly, 

And  owls  and  wolves  begin  their  evening  cry. 

The  astonisht  Inca  marks,  with  wild  surprise, 

Dead  chills  on  earth,  no  cloud  in  all  the  skies. 

His  host  o'ershaded  in  the  field  of  blood, 

Gored  by  his  foes,  deserted  by  his  god. 

Mute  with  amaze,  they  cease  the  war  to  wage, 

Gaze  on  their  leaders  and  forget  their  rage; 

When  pious  Capac  to  the  listening  crowd 

Raised  high  his  wand  and  pour'd  his  voice  aloud:       62G 

Ye  chiefs  and  warriors  of  Peruvian  race, 

Some  sore  offence  obscures  my  father's  face; 

What  moves  the  Numen  to  desert  the  plain, 

Nor  save  his  children  nor  behold  them  slain? 

Fly!  speed  your  course,  regain  the  guardian  towp. 

Ere  darkness  shroud  you  in  a  deeper  frown; 

The  faithful  walls  your  squadrons  shall  defend, 

(While  my  sad  steps  the  sacred  dome  ascend, 


1 1 8  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  Hi 

To  learn  the  cause  and  ward  the  woes  we  fear: 

Haste,  haste  my  sons!  I  guard  the  flying  rear.  640 

The  hero  spoke;  the  trembling  tribes  obey, 
While  deeper  glooms  obscure  the  source  of  day. 
Sudden  the  savage  bands  collect  amain, 
Hang  on  the  rear  and  sweep  them  o'er  the  plain; 
Their  shouts,  redoubling  with  the  flying  war, 
Drown  the  loud  groans  and  torture  all  the  air. 
The  hawks  of  heaven,  that  o'er  the  field  had  stood. 
Scared  by  the  tumult  from  the  scent  of  blood, 
Cleave  the  far  gloom;  the  beasts  forget  their  prey 
And  scour  the  waste  and  give  the  war  its  way.  650 

Zamor  elate  with  horrid  joy  beheld 
The  Sun  depart,  his  children  fly  the  field, 
And  raised  his  rending  voice:  Thou  darkening  sky, 
Deepen  thy  damps,  the  fiend  of  death  is  nigh; 
Behold  him  rising  from  his  shadowy  throne, 
To  veil  this  heaven  and  drive  the  conquer'd  Sun; 
The  glaring  godhead  yields  to  sacred  night, 
And  his  foil'd  armies  imitate  his  flight. 
Confirm,  infernal  power,  thy  rightful  reign, 
Give  deadlier  shades  and  heap  the  piles  of  slain;       660 
Soon  the  young  captive  prince  shall  roll  in  fire, 
And  all  his  race  accumulate  the  pyre. 


BOOK  III.  COLUMTMAI).  11*> 

Ye  mountain  vultures,  here  your  food  explore, 

Tigers  and  condors,  all  ye  gods  of  gore, 

In  these  rich  fields,  beneath  your  frowning  sky, 

A  plenteous  feast  shall  every  god  supply. 

Rush  forward  warriors,  hide  the  plains  with  dead; 

Twas  here  our  friends  in  former  combat  bled; 

Strow'd  thro  the  waste  their  naked  bones  demand 

This  tardy  vengeance  from  our  conquering  hand.      670 

He  said;  and  high  before  the  tiger-train 
With  longer  strides  hangs  forward  o'er  the  slain, 
Bends,  like  a  falling  tree,  to  reach  the  foe 
And  o'er  tall  Capac  aims  a  forceful  blow. 
The  king  beheld  the  ax  and  with  his  wand 
Struck  the  raised  weapon  from  the  sachem's  han3; 
Then  clencht  the  falling  helve,  and  whirling  round, 
Fell'd  a  close  file  of  heroes  to  the  ground; 
Nor  stay'd,  but  folio w'd  where  his  people  run, 
Fearing  to  fight,  forsaken  by  the  Sun;  68€ 

Till  Cusco's  walls  salute  their  longing  sight, 
And  the  wide  gates  receive  their  rapid  flight. 
The  folds  are  barr'd,  the  foes  in  shade  conceal'd, 
Like  howling' wolves,  rave  round  the  frighted  field. 

The  monarch  now  ascends  the  sacred  dome; 
The  sun's  fixt  image  there  partakes  the  gloom; 


t20  '    COLUMBIA!*.  BOOK  III. 

Thro  all  the  shrines,  where  erst  on  new-moon  28  days 

Swell'd  the  full  quires  of  consecrated  praise, 

A  tomb-like  silence  reigns;  till  female  cries 

Burst  forth  at  last,  and  these  sad  accents  rise:  690 

Was  it  for  this,  my  son  to  distant  lands 

Must  trace  the  wilds  and  tempt  those  lawless  bands? 

And  does  the  god  obscure  his  golden  throne 

In  mournful  darkness  for  my  slaughter 'd  son?    . 

Oh,  had  his  beam,  ere  that  disastrous  day 

That  call'd  the  youth  from  these  fond  arms  away, 

Received  my  spirit  to  its  native  sky, 

That  sad  Oella  might  have  seen  him  die! 

Where  slept  thy  shaft  of  vengeance,  O  my  god  I 
When  those  fell  tigers  drank  his  sacred  blood?  TOO 

Did  not  the  pious  prince,  with  rites  divine, 
Feed  the  pure  flame  in  this  thy  hallow'd  shrine? 
And  early  learn,  beneath  his  father's  hand, 
To  shed  thy  blessings  round  the  favor'd  land? 
Form'd  by  thy  laws  the  royal  seat  to  grace. 
Son  of  thy  son  and  glory  of  his  race. 
Where,  my  lost  Rocha,  rests  thy  lovely  head? 
Where  the  rent  robes  thy  hapless  mother  made? 
I  see  thee  mid  those  hideous  hills  of  snow 
Pursued  and  slaughter'tl  by  the  wildman  foe;  710 


1500KIW.  COLUMBIAD.  121 

Or  doom'd  a  feast  for  some  pretended  god 
Drench  his  black  altar  with  celestial  blood. 
Snatch  me,  O  Sun,  to  happier  worlds  of  light- 
No,  shroud  me,  shroud  me  with  thyself  in  night. 
Thou  hear'st  me  not,  thou  dread  departed  Power. 
Thy  face  is  dark  and  Rocha  lives  no  more. 

Thus  heard  the  silent  king;  his  equal  heart 
Caught  all  her  grief  and  bore  a  father's  part. 
The  cause  suggested  by  her  tender  moan, 
The  cause  perchance  that  veii'd  the  midday  sun,       720 
And  shouts  that  spoke  the  still  approaching  foe 
Fixt  him  suspense,  in  all  the  strength  of  woe. 
A  doubtful  moment  held  his  changing  choice; 
Now  would  he  sooth  her,  half  assumes  his  voice; 
But  greater  cares  the  rising  wish  control 
And  call  forth  all  his  energy  of  soul. 
Why  should  he  cease  to  ward  the  coming  fate, 
Or  she  be  told  the  foes  besiege  the  gate? 
He  turn'd  in  haste;  and  now  their  image-god 
High  on  the  spire  with  newborn  lustre  glow'd;  730 

Swift  thro  the  portal  flew  the  hero's  eye 
And  haii'd  the  growing  splendor  in  the  sky. 

The  troops  courageous  at  return  of  light 
Throng  round  the  dome,  impatient  for  the  fight; 
Vol  I.  L 


122  COLUMBIA!).  BOOK  III. 

The  king  descending  in  the  portal  stood 

And  thus  addrest  the  all-delighting  god: 

O  sovereign  soul  of  heaven,  thy  changing  face 

Makes  or  destroys  the  glory  of  thy  race. 

If  from  this  mortal  life  my  child  be  fled, 

First  of  thy  line  that  ever  graced  the  dead;  740 

If  thy  bright  splendor  ceased  on  high  to  burn 

For  that  loved  youth  who  never  must  return, 

Forgive  thine  armies,  when  in  fields  of  blood 

They  lose  their  strength  and  fear  the  frowning  god. 

As  now  thy  glory  with  superior  day 

Glows  thro  the  field  and  leads  the  warrior's  way, 

May  our  exalted  souls,  to  vengeance  driven, 

Burn  with  new  brightness  in  the  cause  of  heaven. 

For  thy  slain  son  the  murderous  horde  shall  bleed; 

We  mourn  the  hero,  but  avenge  the  deed.  750 

He  said;  and  from  the  battlement  on  high 
A  watchful  warrior  raised  a  sudden  cry: 
M  An  Inca  white  on  yonder  altar  tied — 
Tis  Rocha's  self — the  flame  ascends  his  side.*' 

In  sweeping  haste  the  bursting  gates  unbar 
And  flood  the  champaign  with  a  tide  of  war; 
A  doud  of  arrows  lead  the  rapid  train, 
They  shout,  they  swarm,  they  hide  the  dusty  plain; 


BOOK  III.  .LMMAD.  12 J 

Bows,  quivers,  girdle?  strow  the  field  behind, 

And  the  raised  axes  cleave  the  passing  wind.  760 

The  prince,  confest  to  every  warrior's  sight, 

Inspires  each  soul  and  centres  all  the  fight; 

Each  hopes  to  snatch  him  from  the  kindling  pyre. 

Each  fears  his  breath  already  flits  In  fire. 

Here  Zamor  ranged  his  ax- men  deep  and  wide, 

Wedged  like  a  wall,  and  thus  the  king  defied: 

Haste!  son  of  light,  pour  fast  the  winged  war, 

The  prince,  the  dying  prince  demands  your  care; 

Hear  how  his  death  song  chides  your  dull  delay, 

Lift  longer  strides,  bend  forward  to  the  fray,  7 TO 

Ere  flames  infolding  suffocate  his  groan, 

Child  of  your  beaming  god,  a  victim  to  our  own. 

This  said,  he  raised  his  shaggy  shoulders  high. 
And  bade  the  shafts  glide  thicker  thro  the  sky. 
Like  the  broad  billows  of  the  lifted  main 
Rolls  into  sight  the  long  Peruvian  train; 
A  white  sail  bounding  on  the  billows  tost, 
Is  Capac  towering  o'er  the  furious  host. 

Now  meet  the  dreadful  chiefs,  with  eyes  on  fire; 
Beneath  their  blows  the  parting  ranks  retire;  780 

In  whirlwind-sweep  their  meeting  axes  bound, 
"Wheel,  crash  in  air  and  plow  the  trembling  ground; 


124  COLUMBIAN  BOOK  HI 

Their  sinewy  Iimbsjn  fierce  contortions  bend, 

And  mutual  strokes  with  equal  force  descend, 

Parried  with  equal  art,  now  gyring  prest 

High  at  the  head,  now  plunging  for  the  breast. 

The  king  starts  backward  from  the  struggling  foe. 

Collects  new  strength  and  with  a  circling  blow 

Rusht  furious  on;  his  flinty  edge  whirl'd  wide 

Met  Zamor's  helve  and  glancing  grazed  his  side       79£* 

And  settled  in  his  groin;  so  plunged  it  lay, 

That  scarce  the  king  could  tear  his  ax  aw^ay. 

The  savage  fell;  when  thro  the  tiger-train 

The  driving  Inca  turns  his  force  amain; 

Where  stiil  compact  they  hem  the  murderous  pyre 

And  Rocha's  voice  seems  faltering  to  expire. 

The  frenzied  father  rages,  thunders  wild, 

Hews  armies  dowrn,  to  save  the  sinking  child; 

The  ranks  fall  staggering  where  he  lifts  his  arm 

Or  roll  before  him  like  a  billowy  storm; 

Behind  his  steps  collecting  warriors  close; 

Deep  centred  in  a  circling  ridge  of  foes 

He  cleaves  his  wasting  way;  the  prince  unties, 

And  thus  his  voice:  Dread  sovereign  of  the  skies, 

Accept  my  living  son  again  bestow 'd 

To  grace  with  rites  the  temple  of  his  god. 


BOOK  III.  COLUMB1AD.  125 

Move,  heroes,  move;  complete  the  work  begun, 
Crush  the  grim  race,  avenge  your  injured  Sun. 

The  savage  host,  that  view'd  the  daring  deed 
And  saw  their  nations  with  their  leader  bleed,  810 

Raised  high  the  shriek  of  horror;  all  the  plain 
Is  trod  with  flight  and  cover'd  with  the  slain. 
The  bold  Peruvians  compass  round  the  field, 
Confine  their  flight  and  force  the  rest  to  yield; 
When  Capac  raised  his  placid  voice  again: 
Ye  conquering  troops,  collect  the  vanquisht  train; 
The  Sun  commands  to  stay  the  rage  of  war, 
He  knows  to  conquer,  but  he  loves  to  spare. 

He  ceased;  and  v^here  the  savage  leader  lay 
Weltering  in  gore,  directs  his  eager  way,  820 

Unwraps  the  tiger's  hide  and  strives  in  vain 
To  close  the  wound  and  mitigate  the  pain; 
And  while  compassion  for  a  foe  distrest 
Mixt  with  reproach,  he  thus  the  chief  addrest: 
Too  long,  proud  prince,  thy  fearless  heart  withstood 
Our  sacred  arms  and  braved  the  living  god; 
His  sovereign  will  commands  all  feuds  to  cease, 
His  realm  is  concord  and  his  pleasure  peace; 
This  copious  carnage,  spreading  far  the  plain, 
Insults  his  bounties,  but  confirms  his  reign.  830 

L2 


1 26  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  111. 

Enough;  tis  past;  thy  parting  breath  demands 
The  last  sad  office  from  my  yielding  hands. 
To  share  thy  pains  and  feel  thy  hopeless  woe 
Are  rites  ungrateful  to  a  fallen  foe; 
Yet  rest  in  peace;  and  know,  a  chief  so  brave, 
When  life  departs,  shall  find  an  honor' d  grave; 
Myself  in  princely  pomp  thy  tomb  shall  rear 
And  tribes  unborn  thy  hapless  fate  declare. 

Insult  me  not  with  tombs!  the  monster  cried, 
Let  closing  clods  thy  coward  carcase  hide;  840 

But  these  brave  bones  unburied  on  the  plain 
Touch  not  with  dust  nor  dare  with  rites  profane; 
Let  no  curst  earth  conceal  this  gory  head, 
Nor  songs  proclaim  the  dreadful  Zamor  dead. 
Me,  whom  the  hungry  gods  from  plain  to  plain 
Have  followed,  feasting  on  thy  slaughter'd  train, 
Me  wouldst  thou  cover?  no!  from  yonder  sky, 
The  wide-beak'd  hawk,  that  now  beholds  me  die, 
Soon  with  his  cowering  train  my  flesh  shall  tear, 
And  wolves  and  tigers  vindicate  their  share.  850 

Receive,  dread  powers  (since  I  can  slay  no  more) 

My  last  glad  victim,  this  devoted  gore. 

Thus  pour'd  the  vengeful  chief  his  fainting  breath 

And  lost  his  utterance  in  the  gasp  of  death. 


BOOK  in.  COLUMBIAD.  127 

The  sad  remaining  tribes  confess  the  power, 
That  sheds  his  bounties  round  Peruvians  shore; 
Ail  bow  obedient  to  the  Incan  throne, 
And  blest  Oella  hails  her  living  son. 


THE 


COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  IV. 


ARGUMENT. 

< 
Destruction  of  Peru  foretold.  Grief  of  Columbus.  He 

is  comforted  by  the  promise  of  a  vision  of  future  ages. 
All  Europe  appears  in  vision.  Effect  of  the  discovery  of 
America  upon  the  affairs  of  Europe.  Improvement  in 
commerce;  government.  Revival  of  letters.  Order  of  the 
Jesuits.  Religious  persecution.  Inquisition.  Rise  and  pro- 
gress of  more  liberal  principles.  Character  of  Raleigh; 
who  plans  the  settlement  of  North  America.  Formation 
of  the  coast  by  the  gulf  stream.  Nature  of  the  colonial 
establishments,  the  first  great  asylum  and  infant  empire 
of  liberty.  Liberty  the  necessary  foundation  of  morals. 
Delaware  arrives  with  a  reinforcement  of  new  settlers,  to 
consolidate  the  colony  of  Virginia.  Night  scene,  as  con- 
templated by  these  patriarchs,  while  they  are  sailing  up 
the  Chesapeak,  and  are  saluted  by  the  river  gods.  Pro- 
phetic speech  of  Potomac.  Fleets  of  settlers  from  several 
parts  bf  Europe  steering  for  America. 


THE 

COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  IV. 

IX  one  dark  age,  beneath  a  single  hand, 
Thus  rose  an  empire  in  the  savage  land. 
Its  wealth  and  power  with  following  years  increase, 
Its  growing  nations  spread  the  walks  of  peace; 
Religion  here,  that  universal  name, 
Man's  proudest  passion,  most  ungovern'd  flame, 
Erects  her  altars  on  the  same  bright  base. 
That  dazzled  erst  and  still  deludes  the  race; 
Sun,  moon,  all  powers  that  forceful  strike  his  eyes. 
Earth-shaking  storms  and  constellated  skies.  1© 

Yet  all  the  pomp  his  labors  here  unfold, 
The  vales  of  verdure  and  the  towers  of  gold, 
Those  infant  arts  and  sovereign  seats  of  state, 
In  short-lived  glory  hasten  to  their  fate. 


132  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  IV. 

Thy  followers,  rushing  like  an  angry  flood, 
Too  soon  shall  drench  them  in  the  nation's  blood; 
Nor  thou,  Las  Casas,29  best  of  men,  shalt  stay 
The  ravening  legions  from  their  guardless  prey. 
O  hapless  prelate,  hero,  saint  and  sage! 
Foredoom'd  with  crimes  a  fruitless  war  to  wage.         2© 
To  see  at  last,  thy  life  of  virtue  run, 
A  realm  unpeopled  and  a  world  undone! 
While  pious  Valverde,  mock  of  priesthood  stands, 
Guilt  in  his  heart,  the  gospel  in  his  hands, 
Eids  in  one  field  their  unarm'd  thousands  bleed, 
Smiles  o'er  the  scene  and  sanctifies  the  deed. 
And  thou,  brave  Gasca,  with  persuasive  strain, 
Shalt  lift  thy  voice  and  urge  thy  power  in  vain; 
Vain  are  thy  hopes  the  sinking  land  to  save 
Or  call  her  slaughter'd  millions  from  the  grave.  SO 

Here  Hesper  paused.  Columbus  with  a  sigh 
Cast  o'er  the  continent  his  moisten'd  eye 
And  thus  replied:  Ah,  hide  me  in  the  tomb; 
Why  should  I  live  to  see  the  impending  doom"' 
If  such  foul  deeds  the  scheme  of  heaven  compose. 
And  virtue's  toils  induce  redoubled  woes, 
Unfold  no  more;  but  grant  a  kind  relea 
Give  me,  tis  all  I  ask,  to  rest  in  peace. 


BOOK  IV  COLUMBIAN 

And  thou  shalt  rest  in  peace,  the  Saint  rejoin'd, 
Ere  these  conflicting  shades  involve  mankind.  4C) 

But  broader  views  shall  first  thy  mind  engage, 
Years  far  advanced  beyond  this  darksome  age 
Shall  feast  thee  here;  the  fruits  of  thy  long  care 
A  grateful  world  beneath  thy  ken  shall  share. 
Europe's  contending  kings  shall  soon  behold 
These  fertile  plains  and  hills  of  treasured  gold; 
And  in  the  path  of  thy  adventurous  sail 
Their  countless  navies  float  on  every  gale; 
For  wealth  and  commerce  search  the  western  shore 
And  load  each  ocean  with  the  shining  ore.  50 

As  up  the  orient  heaven  the  dawning  ray 
Smiles  o'er  the  hills  and  gives  the  promised  day, 
Drives  fraud  and  rapine  from  their  nightly  spoil. 
And  social  nature  wakes  to  various  toil; 
So  from  the  blazing  mine  the  golden  store 
Mid  rival  states  shall  spread  from  shore  to  shore. 
Unite  their  force,  its  opulence  to  share, 
Extend  the  pomp  but  sooth  the  rage  of  war; 
Wide  thro  the  world  while  genius  uncontined 
Tempts  loftier  flights  and  opens  all  the  mind,  60 

Dissolves  the  slavish  bands  of  monkish  lore, 
Wakes  the  bold  aits  and  bids  the  Muses  soar. 

Vol.  I.  jVI 


134  COLlMmAD  BOOK  IV 

Then  shall  thy  northern  climes  their  seats  display, 
United  nations  there  commence  their  sway; 
O'er  earth  and  ocean  spread  their  peerless  fame 
And  send  thro  time  thy  patriarchal  name. 

Now  turn  thy  view  to  Europe;  see  the  rage 
Of  feudal  faction  every  court  engage; 
All  honest  labor,  all  commercial  ties 
Their  kings  discountenance,  their  lords  despise.  ?G 

The  naked  harbors  looking  to  the  main 
Rear  their  kind  cliffs  and  break  the  storms  in  vain. 
The  willing  wave  no  foreign  treasures  lade, 
Nor  sails  nor  cities  cast  a  watery  shade; 
Save,  where  yon  opening  gulf  the  strand  divides, 
Proud  Venice  bathes  her  in  the  broken  tides, 
Weds  her  tamed  sea,  shakes  every  distant  throne 
And  deems  by  right  the  naval  world  her  own. 

Yet  must  we  mark,  the  bondage  of  the  mind 
Spread's  deeper  glooms  and  subjugates  mankind;         8b 
The  zealots  fierce,  whom  local  creeds  enrage, 
In  holy  feuds  perpetual  combat  wage, 
Support  all  ciinies  by  full  indulgence  given, 
Usurp  the  power  and  wield  the  sword  of  heaven. 

But  !o,  where  future  years  their  scenes  unrol, 
The  rising  arts  inspire  tne  venturous  soul. 


BOOK  l\  LUMBIAD.  loo 

From  all  the  ports  that  cleave  the  coast  of  Spain, 

New  fleets  ascending  streak  the  western  main; 

From  Tago's  bank,  from  Albion's  rocky  round, 

Commercing  squadrons  o'er  the  billows  bound;  90 

Thro  Afric's  isles  observe  the  sweeping  sails, 

Full  pinions  tossing  in  Arabian  gales, 

Indus  and  Ganges  deep  in  canvas  lost 

And  navies  crowding  round  Cambodia's  coast; 

New  nations  rise,  all  climes  and  oceans  brave 

And  shade  with  sheets  the  immeasurable  wave. 

See  lofty  Ximenes  with  solemn  gait 
Move  from  the  cloister  to  the  walks  of  state, 
And  thro  the  factious  monarchies  of  Spain 
Curb  the  fierce  lords  and  fix  one  royal  reign.  lOu 

Behold  dread  Charles  the  imperial  seat  ascends, 
O'er  Europe's  thrones  his  conquering  arm  extends; 
While  wealthier  shores  beneath  the  western  day 
Unfold  their  treasures  to  confirm  his  sway. 

Roused  at  false  glory's  fascinating  call, 
See  Francis  train  the  gallant  youths  of  Gaul, 
O'erstrain  the  strength  of  her  extended  states, 
Scale  the  proud  Alps  or  burst  their  granite  gates* 
On  Pavia's  plain  for  Cesar's  crown  contend, 
Of  arms  the  votary  but  of  arts  the  friend.  1 10 


136  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  IV. 

And  see  proud  Wolsey  rise,  securely  great, 
Kings  at  his  call  and  mitres  round  him  wait; 
From  monkish  walls  the  hoarded  wealth  he  draws 
To  aid  the  tyrant  and  restrain  the  laws, 
Wakes  Albion's  genius,  neighboring  princes  braves 
And  shares  with  them  the  commonwealth  of  waves 

Behold  dark  Solyman  from  eastern  skies 
With  his  grim  host  magnificently  rise, 
Wave  his  broad  crescent  o'er  the  midland  sea, 
Thro  vast  Hungaria  drive  his  conquering  way,  120 

Crowd  close  the  christian  powers  and  carry  far 
The  rules  of  homicide,  the  lore  of  war. 

The  /Tuscan  dukes  excite  a  nobler  strife; 
Lorenzo  calls  the  Fine  Arts  forth  to  life, 
Fair  nature's  mimic  maids;  whose  powers  divine 
Her  charms  develop  and  her  laws  define; 
From  sire  to  son  the  splendid  labors  spread, 
And  Leo  follows  where  good  Cosmo  led. 
Waked  from  the  ground  that  Gothic  rovers  trod 
Starts  the  bronze  hero  and  the  marble  god;  131 

Monks,  prelates,  pontiffs  pay  the  reverence  due 
To  that  bold  taste  their  Grecian  masters  knew; 
Resurgent  temples  throng  the  Latian  shore. 
The  Pencil  triumphs  and  the  Muses  soar. 


OOK  i\ 


;  OlA  Mlii  UD.  lo? 


O'er  the  dark  world  Erasmus  rears  his  * 
In  schoolman  lore  sees  kings  and  nations  lie, 
With  strength  of  judgment  and  with  fancy  warm 
Derides  their  follies  and  dissolves  the  charm. 
Tears  the  deep  veil  that  bigot  zeal  has  thrown 
On  pagan  books  and  science  long  unknown,  MO 

From  faith  in  senseless  rites  relieves  mankind 
And  seats  bold  virtue  in  the  conscious  mind. 
But  still  the  frightful  task,  to  face  alone 
The  jealous  vengeance  of  the  papal  throne, 
Restrains  his  hand :  he  gives  the  contest  o'er 
And  leaves  his  hardier  sons  to  curb  that  power. 

Luther  walks  forth  in  yon  majestic  frame, 
Bright  beam  of  heaven  and  heir  of  endless  fame, 
Born  like  thyself  thro  toils  and  griefs  to  wind, 
From  slavery's  chains  to  free  the  captive  mind,         150 
Brave  adverse  crowns,  control  the  pontiff  sway 
And  bring  benighted  nations  into  day. 

Remark  what  crowds  his  name  around  him  brings. 
Schools,  synods,  prelates,  potentates  and  kings, 
All  gaining  knowledge  from  his  boundless  store, 
And  join'd  to  shield  him  from  the  papal  power. 
First  of  his  friends,  see  Frederic's  M  princely  form 
Ward  from  the  sage  divine  the  gathering  storm. 

M  2 


138  COLOMBIA©  BOOK  IV 

111  learned  Wittemburgh  secure  his  seat, 

High  throne  of  thought,  religion's  safe  retreat.  160 

There  sits  Melancthon,  mild  as  morning  light, 

And  feuds,  tho  sacred,  soften  in  his  sight; 

In  terms  so  gentle  flows  his  tuneful  tongue, 

Even  cloister'd  bigots  join  the  pupil  throng; 

By  all  sectarian  chiefs  he  lives  approved, 

By  monarchs  courted 31  and  by  men  beloved. 

And  lo,  where  Europe's  utmost  limits  bend, 
From  this  new  source  what  various  lights  ascend! 
See  haughty  Henry,  from  the  papal  tie 
His  realms  dissever  and  the  priest  defy;  170 

While  Albion's  sons  disdain  a  foreign  throne 
And  learn  to  bound  the  oppressions  of  their  own. 

Then  rises  Loyola,  a  strange  new  name, 
By  paths  unseen  to  reach  the  goal  of  fame; 
Thro  courts  and  camps  he  teaches  how  to  wind, 
To  mine  whole  states  and  overreach  mankind. 
Train'd  in  his  school,  a  bold  and  artful  race 
Range  o'er  the  world  and  every  sect  embrace, 
All  creeds  and  powers  and  policies  explore, 
New  seats  of  science  raise  on  every  shore;  180 

Till  their  wide  empire  gains  a  wondrous  birth, 
Built  in  all  empires  o'er  this  ancient  earth. 


BOOK  IV.  COLUMBIAD  139 

Our  wildmen  too,  the  tribes  of  Paraguay, 
Receive  their  rites  and  bow  beneath  their  sway. 
The  world  of  men  thus  moving  in  thy  view 
Improve  their  state,  more  useful  works  pursue; 
Unwonted  deeds  in  rival  greatness  shine, 
Call'd  into  life  and  first  inspired  by  thine. 
So  while  imperial  Homer  tunes  the  lyre, 
His  living  lays  unnumber'd  bards  inspire;  190 

From  age  to  age  the  kindling  spirit  flies, 
Sounds  thro  the  earth  and  echoes  to  the  skies. 

Now  roll  the  years,  when  Europe's  ample  space 
By  peace  and  culture  rears  a  wiser  race, 
Men  bred  to  labor,  school'd  in  freedom's  lore 
And  form'd  to  colonize  our  favorite  shore. 
To  speed  their  course,  the  sons  of  bigot  rage 
In  persecution  whelm  the  inquiring  age; 
Myriads  of  martyr'd  heroes  mount  the  pyre, 
And  blind  devotion  lights  the  sacred  fire.  200 

Led  by  the  dark  Dominicans  of  Spain, 
A  newborn  Fury  walks  the  wide  domain, 
Gaunt  Inquisition;  mark  her  giant  stride, 
Her  blood-nursed  vulture  screaming  at  her  side. 
Her  priestly  train  the  tools  of  torment  brings, 
Racks,  wheels  and  crosses,  faggots,  stakes  and  strings, 


140  COLUMBIAD  £00: 

Scaffolds  and  cages  round  her  altar  stand, 

And,  tipt  with  sulphur,  waves  her  flaming  brand 

Her  imps  of  inquest  round  the  fiend  advance, 

Suspectors  grave  and  spies  with  eye  askance,  210 

Pretended  heretics  who  worm  the  soul, 

And  sly  confessors  with  their  secret  scroll, 

Accusers  hired,  for  each  conviction  paid^ 

Judges  retained  and  witnesses  by  trade, 

Dragg'd  from  a  thousand  jails  her  victim  trail 
Jews,  Moors  and  Christians  clank  alike  their  chains. 
Read  their  known  sentence  in  her  fiery  eyes 
And  breathe  to  heaven  their  unavailing  cries; 
Lasht  on  the  pile  their  writhing  bodies  turn 
And  veiPd  in  doubling  smoke  begin  to  burn. 
Where  the  flames  open,  lo  their  limbs  in  vain 
Reach  out  for  help,  distorted  by  the  pain; 
Till  folded  in  the  fires  they  disappear 
And  not  a  sound  invades  the  startled  ear. 

See  Philip  throned  in  insolence  and  pride 
Enjoy  their  waitings  and  their  pangs  deride; 
While  o'er  the  same  dread  scenes  on  Albion's  isleb 
His  well  taught  spouse,  the  cruel  Mary  smiles. 
What  clouds  of  smoke  hang  heavy  round  the  shore! 
What  altars  hecatomb'd  with  christian  gore! 


BOOK  TV.  COLUMBIA*).  141 

Her  sire's  best  friends,  the  wise,  the  brave,  the  good, 

Roll  in  the  flames  or  fly  the  land  of  blood. 

To  Gallia's  plains  the  maddening  frenzy  turns. 

Religion  raves  and  civil  discord  burns; 

Leaguers  and  Huguenots  their  vengeance  pour. 

They  swell  Bartholemy's  wide  feast  of  gore, 

Alternate  victors  bid  their  gibbets  rise, 

And  the  foul  stench  of  victims  chokes  the  skies. 

Now  cease  the  factions  with  the  Valois  line,  ♦ 

And  Bourbon's  virtues  every  voice  combine.  24<* 

Quell'd  by  his  fame,  the  furious  sects  accord, 
Europe  respires  beneath  his  guardian  sword; 
Butavia's  states  to  independence  soar 
And  curb  the  cohorts  of  Iberian  power. 
From  Albion's  ports  her  infant  navies  heave, 
Stretch  forth  and  thunder  on  the  Flandrian  wave; 
Her  Howard  there  first  foils  the  force  of  Spain 
And  there  begins  her  mastery  of  the  main. 

The  Seraph  spoke;  when  full  beneath  their  eye, 
A  new  form'd  squadron  rose  along  the  sky,  25(> 

High  on  the  tallest  deck  majestic  shone 
Sage  Raleigh,  pointing  to  the  western  sun; 
His  eye,  bent  forward,  ardent  and  sublime, 
Seem'd  piercing  nature  and  evolving  time: 


142  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  IV 

Beside  him  stood  a  globe,  whose  figure  traced 

A  future  empire  in  each  present  waste; 

All  former  works  of  men  behind  him  shone 

Graved  by  his  hand  in  ever  during  stone; 

On  his  calm  brow  a  various  crown  displays 

The  hero's  laurel  and  the  scholar's  bays;  260 

His  graceful  limbs  in  steely  mail  were  drest, 

The  bright  star  burning  on  his  lofty  breast; 

His  sword  high  waving  flasht  the  solar  ray, 

Illumed  the  shrouds  and  rainbow'd  far  the  spray; 

The  smiling  crew  rose  resolute  and  brave, 

And  the  glad  sails  hung  bounding  o'er  the  wave. 

Storms  of  wild  Hatteras,  suspend  your  roar, 
Ye  tumbling  billows,  cease  to  shake  the  shore; 
Look  thro  the  doubling  clouds,  thou  lamp  of  day, 
Teach  the  bold  Argonauts  their  chartless  way;  270 

Your  viewless  capes,  broad  Chesapeak,  unfold 
And  show  your  promised  Colchis  fleeced  with  gold. 
No  plundering  squadron  your  new  Jason  brings; 
No  pirate  demigods  nor  hordes  of  kings 
From  shore  to  shore  a  faithless  miscreant  steers 
To  steal  a  maid  and  leave  a  sire  in  tears. 
But  yon  wise  chief  conducts  with  careful  ken 
The  queen  of  colonies,  the  best  of  men 


BOOK  I\  COLUMBIAlf.  14^ 

To  wake  to  fruitful  life  your  slumbering  soil 

And  rear  an  empire  with  the  hand  of  toil.  280 

Your  fond  Medea  too,  whose  dauntless  breast 

All  danger  braves  to  screen  her  hunted  guest, 

Shall  quit  her  native  tribe,  but  never  share 

The  crimes  and  sufferings  of  the  Colchian  fair* 

Blest  Pocahontas,  fear  no  lurking  guile; 

Thy  hero's  love  shall  well  reward  thy  smile. 

Ah  sooth  the  wanderer  in  his  desperate  plight, 

Hide  him  by  day  and  calm  his  cares  by  night; 

Tho  savage  nations  with  thy  vengeful  sire 

Pursue  their  victim  with  unceasing  ire,  290 

And  tho  their  threats  thy  startled  ear  assail, 

Let  virtue's  voice  o'er  filial  fears  prevail. 

Fly  with  the  faithful  youth,  his  steps  to  guide, 

Pierce  the  known  thicket,  breast  the  fordless  tide, 

Ulude  the  scout,  avoid  the  ambushtline 

And  lead  him  safely  to  his  friends  and  thine; 

For  thine  shall  be  his  friends,  his  heart,  his  name; 

His  camp  shall  shout,  his  nation  boast  thy  fame. 

But  now  the  bay  unfolds  a  passage  wide 
And  leads  the  squadron  up  the  freshening  tide;  300 

Where  Pohatan  spreads  deep  her  sylvan  soil, 
And  grassy  lawns  allure  the  steps  of  toil. 


144  COIA  MiUAL)  BOOK  1\ 

Here,  lodged  in  peace,  they  tread  the  welcome  land, 
An  instant  harvest  waves  beneath  their  hand, 
Spontaneous  fruits  their  easy  cares  beguile, 
And  opening  fields  in  living  culture  smile. 

With  joy  Columbus  view'd;  when  thus  his  voice: 
Ye  grove-clad  shores,  ye  generous  hosts,  rejoice; 
Exchange  your  benefits,  your  gifts  combine; 
What  nature  fashions,  let  her  sons  refine.  310 

Be  thou,  my  Seer,  the  people's  guardian  friend, 
Protect  their  virtues  and  their  lives  defend; 
May  wealth  and  wisdom  with  their  arts  unfold, 
Yet  save,  oh,  save  them  from  the  thirst  of  gold. 
Let  the  poor  guardless  natives  never  feel 
The  flamen's  fraud,  the  soldier's  fateful  steel; 
But  learn  the  blessings  that  alone  attend 
On  civil  rights  where  social  virtues  blend, 
In  these  brave  leaders  find  a  welcome  guide, 
And  rear  their  fanes  and  empires  by  their  side.  326 

Smile,  great  Hesperia,  smile;  the  star  of  morn 
Illumes  thy  heavens  and  bids  thy  day  be  born; 
Thy  opening  forests  show  the  work  begun, 
Thy  plains  unshaded  drink  a  purer  sun; 
Yield  now  thy  bounties,  load  the  laboring  main, 
Give  birth  to  nations  and  begin  thy  reign. 


BOOK  l\  COLUMBIA*  145 

The  Hero  spoke;  when  thus  the  Saint 'rejoiivd, 
Approved  his  joy  and  feasted  still  his  mind: 
Well  may  thy  voice,  with  patriarch  pride  elate, 
Burst  forth  triumphant  at  a  scene  so  great.  330 

Here  springs  indeed  the  day,  since  time  began, 
The  brightest,  broadest,  happiest  morn  of  man. 
In  these  prime  settlements  thy  raptures  trace 
The  germ,  the  genius  of  a  sapient  race, 
Predestined  here  to  methodize  and  mold 
New  codes  of  empire  to  reform  the  old. 

A  work  so  vast  a  second  world  required, 
By-  oceans  bourn'd  from  elder  states  retired; 
Where,  uncontaminated,  unconfined, 
Free  contemplation  might  expand  the  mind,  340 

To  form,  fix,  prove  the  well  adjusted  plan 
And  base  and  build  the  commonwealth  of  man. 

This  arm,  that  leads  the  stellar  host  of  even, 
That  stretcht  o'er  yon  rude  ridge  the  western  heaven* 
That  heal'd  the  wounded  earth  when  from  her  side 
The  moon  burst  forth  and  left  the  South  Sea  tide, 
That  calm'd  these  elements  and  taught  them  where 
To  mold  their  mass  and  rib  the  crusted  sphere. 
Line  the  closed  continent  with  wrecks  of  life 
And  recommence  their  generating  strife,  350 

Vol.  L  N 


140  COLUMBIAN  BOOK  I\ 

That  rear'd  the  mountain,  spread  the  subject  plain, 
Led  the  long  stream  and  roll'd  the  billowy  main, 
Stole  from  retiring  tides  the  growing  strand, 
Heaved  the  green  banks,  the  shadowy  inlets  plann'd, 
Strow'd  the  wild  fruitage,  gave  the  beast  his  place 
And  form'd  the  region  for  thy  filial  race, — 
This  arm  prepared  their  future  seats  of  state, 
Design'd  their  limits  and  prescribed  their  date. 

When  first  the  staggering  globe  its  breach  repair'd, 
And  this  bold  hemisphere  its  shoulders  rear'd,  360 

Back  to  those  heights,  whose  hovering  vapor  shrouds 
My  rock-raised  world  in  Alleganian  clouds, 
The  Atlantic  waste  its  coral  kingdom  spread, 
And  scaly  nations  here  their  gambols  led; 
Till  by  degrees,  thro  following  tracts  of  time, 
From  laboring  ocean  rose  the  sedgy  clime, 
As  from  unloaded  waves,  the  rising  sand 
Swell'd  into  light  and  gently  drew  to  land. 
For,  moved  by  tradewinds  o'er  the  flaming  zone, 
The  waves  roll  westward  with  the  constant  sun,         370 
Meet  my  firm  isthmus,  scoop  that  gulfy  bed, 
Wheel  to  the  north  and  here  their  current  spread. 
Those  ravaged  banks,  that  move  beneath  their  force. 
Borne  on  the  tide  and  lost  along  their  course. 


HOOK  IV.  [AU  147 

Create  the  shore,  consolidate  the  soil 

And  hither  lead  the  enlighten'd  steps  of  toil. 

Think  not  the  lust  of  gold  shall  here  annoy. 
Enslave  the  nation  and  its  nerve  destroy. 
No  useless  mine  these  northern  hills  enclose, 
No  ruby  ripens  and  no  diamond  glows;  "80 

But  richer  stores  and  rocks  of  useful  mold 
Repay  in  wealth  the  penury  of  gold. 
Freedom's  unconquer'd  race  with  healthy  toil 
Shall  lop  the  grove  and  warm,  the  furrow'd  soil, 
From  iron  ridges  break  the  rugged  ore 
And  plant  with  men  the  man-ennobling  shore; 
Sails,  villas,  towers"  and  temples  round  them  heave* 
Shine  o'er  the  realms  and  light  the  distant  wave. 
Nor  think  the  native  tribes  shall  rue  the  day 
That  leads  our  heroes  o'er  the  watery  way.  390 

A  cause  like  theirs  no  mean  device  can  mar. 
Nor  bigot  rage  nor  sacerdotal  war. 
From  eastern  tyrants  driven,  resolved  and  brave. 
To  build  new  states  or  seek  a  distant  grave, 
Our  sons  shall  try  a  new  colonial  plan, 
To  tame  the  soil,  but  spare  their  kindred  man. 

Thro  Europe's  wilds  when  feudal  nations  spread, 
The  pride  of  conquest  every  legion  led. 


148 


COLUMBIA*). 


BOOK  IV 


Each  fur-clad  chief,  by  servile  crowds  adored, 
O'er  conquer'd  realms  assumed  the  name  of  lord,     400 
Built  the  proud  castle,  ranged  the  savage  wood, 
Fired  his  grim  host  to  frequent  fields  of  blood, 
With  new  made  honors  lured  his  subject  bands* 
Price  of  their  lives  and  purchase  of  their  lands; 
For  names  and  titles  bade  the  world  resign 
Their  faith,  their  freedom  and  their  rights  divine. 

Contending  baronies  their  terrors  spread, 
\nd  slavery  folio w'd  where  the  standard  led; 
Till,  little  tyrants  by  the  great  o'eithrown, 
The  spoils  of  nobles  build  the  regal  crown;  410 

Wealth,  wisdom,  virtue,  eveiy  claim  of  man 
Unguarded  fall  to  consummate  the  plan. 
Ambitious  cares,  that  nature  never  gave, 
Torment  alike  the  monarch  and  the  slave, 
Thro  all  degrees  in  gradual  pomp  ascend, 
Honor  the  name,  but  tyranny  the  end. 

Far  different  honors  here  the  heart  shall  claim. 
Sublimer  objects,  deeds  of  happier  fame; 
A  new  creation  waits  the  western  shore, 
And  moral  triumphs  o'er  monarchic  power.  426 

Thy  freeborn  sons,  with  genius  unconfined, 
Nor  sloth  can  slacken  nor  a  tyrant  bind; 


BOOK  IN  COLUMBIAN.  149 

With  self-wrought  fame  and  worth  internal  blest, 

Xo  venal  star  shall  brighten  on  their  breast, 

Nor  king-created  name  nor  courtly  ait 

Damp  the  bold  thought  or  desiccate  the  heart. 

Above  all  fraud,  beyond  all  titles  great, 

Truth  in  their  voice  and  sceptres  at  their  feet, 

Like  sires  of  unborn  states  they  move  sublime, 

Look  empires  thro  and  span  the  breadth  of  time,       430 

Hold  o'er  the  world,  that  men  may  choose  from  far, 

The  palm  of  peace  or  scourge  of  barbarous  war; 

Till  their  example  every  nation  charms, 

Commands  its  friendship  and  its  rage  disarms 

Here  social  man  a  second  birth  shall  find. 
And  a  new  range  of  reason  lift  his  mind, 
Feed  his  strong  intellect  with  purer  light. 
A  nobler  sense  of  duty  and  of  right, 
The  sense  of  liberty;  whose  holy  fire 
His  life  shall  temper  and  his  laws  inspire,  44t» 

Purge  from  all  shades  the  world-embracing  scope 
That  prompts  his  genius  and  expands  his  hope. 

When  first  his  form  arose  erect  on  earth, 
Parturient  nature  hail'd  the  wondrous  birth, 
With  fairest  limbs  and  finest  fibres  wrought 
And  framed  for  vast  and  various  toils  of  thought 

N2 


150  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  I> 

To  aid  his  promised  powers  with  loftier  flight 

And  stretch  his  views  beyond  corporeal  sight, 

Prometheus  came  and  from  the  floods  of  day 

Sunn'd  his  clear  soul  with  heaven's  internal  ray;         450 

The  expanding  spark  divine,  that  round  him  springs 

And  leads  and  lights  him  thro  the  immense  of  things, 

Probes  the  dense  earth,  explores  the  soundless  main, 

Remolds  their  mass  thro  all  its  threefold  reign, 

O'er  great,  o'er  small  extends  his  physic  laws, 

Impalms  the  empyrean  or  dissects  a  gaz, 

Weighs  the  vast  orbs  of  heaven,  bestrides  the  sky, 

Walks  on  the  windows  of  an  insect's  eye; 

Turns  then  to  self,  more  curious  still  to  trace 

The  whirls  of  passion  that  involve  the  race,  460 

That  cloud  with  mist  the  visual  lamp  of  God 

And  plunge  the  poniard  in  fraternal  blood. 

Here  fails  his  light.  The  proud  Titanian  ray 

O'er  physic  nature  sheds  indeed  its  day; 

Yet  leaves  the  moral  in  chaotic  jars, 

The  spoil  of  violence,  the  sport  of  wars, 

Presents  contrasted  parts  of  one  great  plan, 

Earth,  heaven  subdued,  but  man  at  swords  with  man; 

His  wars,  his  errors  into  science  grown, 

And  the  great  cause  of  all  his  ills  unknown.  470 


BOOK  TV  COLUMBIA©  151 

But  when  he  steps  on  these  regenerate  shores. 
His  mind  unfolding  for  superior  powers, 
Freedom,  his  new  Prometheus,  here  shall  rise, 
Light  her  new  torch  in  my  refulgent  skies, 
Touch  with  a  stronger  life  his  opening  soul, 
Of  moral  systems  fix  the  central  goal, 
Her  own  resplendent  essence.  Thence  expand 
The  rays  of  reason  that  illume  the  land; 
Thence  equal  rights  proceed  and  equal  laws, 
Thence  holy  Justice  all  her  reverence  draws;  480 

Truth  with  untarnisht  beam  descending  thence 
Strikes  every  eye  and  quickens  every  sense, 
Bids  bright  Instruction  spread  her  ample  page 
To  drive  dark  dogmas  from  the  inquiring  age, 
Ope  the  true  treasures  of  the  earth  and  skies 
And  teach  the  student  where  his  object  lies. 

Sun  of  the  moral  world!  effulgent  source 
Of  man's  best  wisdom  and  his  steadiest  force, 
Soul-searching  Freedom!  here  assume  thy  stand 
And  radiate  hence  to  every  distant  land;  490 

Point  out  and  prove  how  all  the  scenes  of  strife, 
The  shock  of  states,  the  impassion'd  broils  of  life, 
Spring  from  unequal  sway;  and  how  they  fly 
Before  the  splendor  of  thy  peaceful  eye: 


152  COLUMBIA©  BOOK  IV. 

Unfold  at  last  the  genuine  social  plan, 
The  mind's  full  scope,  the  dignity  of  man, 
Bold  nature  bursting  thro  her  long  disguise 
And  nations  tlaring  to  be  just  and  wise. 

Yes!  righteous  Freedom,  heaven  and  earth  and  sea 
Yield  or  withhold  their  various  gifts  for  thee;  500 

Protected  Industry  beneath  thy  reign 
Leads  all  the  virtues  in  her  filial  train; 
Courageous  Probity  with  brow  serene 
And  Temperance  calm  presents  her  placid  mien; 
Contentment,  Moderation,  Labor,  Art 
Mold  the  new  man  and  humanize  his  heart; 
To  public  plenty  private  ease  dilates, 
Domestic  peace  to  harmony  of  states. 
Protected  Industry,  careering  far, 

Detects  the  cause  and  cures  the  rage  of  war  510 

And  sweeps  with  forceful  arm  to  their  last  graves 
Kings  from  the  earth  and  pirates  from  the  waves. 

But  slow  proceeds  the  work.  Long  toils,  my  son, 
Must  base  the  fabric  of  so  vast  a  throne; 
Where  Freedom  founds  her  everlasting  reign, 
And  e -mil's  whole  empires  form  the  fair  domain. 
That  great  coloniarch,  whose  exalted  soul 
Pervades  all  scenes  thnt  future  roars  unrol.  > 


BOOK  IV  COLUMB1  \iv  15S 

Must  yield  (he  palm  and  at  a  courtier's  shrine 
His  plans  relinquish  and  his  life  resign;  520 

His  life  that  brightens,  as  his  death  shall  stain 
The  fair,  foul  annals  of  his  master's  reign- 
That  feeble  band,  the  lonely  wilds  who  tread, 
Their  sire,  their  genius  in  their  Raleigh  dead, 
Shall  pine  and  perish  in  the  savage  gloom 
Or  mount  the  wave  and  seek  their  ancient  home. 
Others  in  vain  the  generous  task  pursue, 
The  dangers  tempt  and  all  the  strife  renew; 
While  kings  and  ministers  obstruct 32  the  plan, 
Unfaithful  guardians  of  the  weal  of  man.  530 

At  last  brave  Delaware  with  his  blithe  host 
Sails  in  full  triumph  to  the  well  known  coast, 
Aids  with  a  liberal  hand  the  patriot  cause, 
Reforms  their  policy,  designs  their  laws; 
Till  o'er  Virginia's  plains  they  spread  their  sway 
And  push  their  hamlets  tow'rd  the  setting  day. 
He  comes,  my  Delaware!  howr  mild  and  bland 
My  zephyrs  greet  him  from  the  long-sought  land! 
From  fluvial  glades  that  thro  my  cantons  run, 
•From  those  rich  mounds  that  mask  the  falling  sun.  540 

Borne  up  my  Chesapeak,  as  first  he  hails 
;Fhe  flowery  banks  that  scent  his  slackening  sails, 


154  COLUMBIA!*  ROOK  IV. 

Descending  twilight  mellows  clown  the  gleam 

That  spreads  far  forward  on  the  broad  blue  stream; 

The  moonbeam  dancing,  as  the  pendants  glide, 

Silvers  with  trembling  tints  the  ripply  tide; 

The  sand-sown  beach,  the  rocky  bluff  repays 

The  faint  effulgence  with  their  amber'd  rays; 

O'er  greenwood  glens  a  browner  lustre  flies 

And  bright-hair'd  hills  walk  shadowy  round  the  skies.  55*- 

Profound  solicitude  and  strong  delight 
Absorb  the  chief  as  thro  the  waste  of  night 
He  walks  the  lonely  deck  and  skirts  the  lands 
That  wait  their  nations  from  his  guiding  hands. 

Tall  thro  the  tide  the  river  Sires  by  turns 

Rise  round  the  bark  and  blend  their  social  urns; 

Majestic  brotherhood!  each  feels  the  power 

To  feed  an  empire  from  his  future  store. 

They  stand  stupendous,  flooding  full  the  bay. 

And  pointing  each  thro  different  climes  the  way.        560 
Resplendent  o'er  the  rest,  the  regent  god 

Potomac  towers  and  sways  the  swelling  flood; 

Vines  clothe  his  arms,  wild  fruits  o'erfil  his  horn, 

Wreaths  of  green  maiz  his  reverend  brows  adorn, 

His  silver  beard  reflects  the  lunar  day, 

And  round  his  loins  the  scaly  nations  play 


BOOK  IV  (*U1A  UfiiAU  155 

The  breeze  fails  calm,  the  sails  in  silence  rest, 
While  thus  his  greetings  cheer  the  stranger  guest: 
Blest  be  the  bark  that  seized  the  promised  hour 
To  waft  thee  welcome  to  this  friendly  shore.  570 

Long  have  we  learnt  the  fame  that  here  awaits 
The  future  sires  of  our  unplanted  states; 
We  all  salute  thee  with  our  mingling  tides, 
Our  high-fenced  havens  and  our  fruitful  sides. 
The  hundred  realms  our  myriad  fountains  drain 
Shall  lose  their  limits  in  the  vast  domain; 
But  my  bold  banks  with  proud  impatience  wait 
The  palm  of  glory  in  a  work  so  great; 
On  me  thy  sons  their  central  seat  shall  raise 
And  crown  my  labors  with  distinguisht  praise.  58€ 

For  this,  from  rock-ribb'd  lakes  I  forced  my  birth 
And  climb'd  and  sunder'd  many  a  mound  of  earth, 
Rent  the  huge  hills  that  yonder  heave  on  high 
And  with  their  tenfold  rkiges  rake  the  sky, 
Removed  whole  mountains  in  my  headlong  way., 
Strow'd  a  strong  soil  around  this  branching  Bay, 
Scoop'd  wide  his  basins  to  the  distant  main 
And  hung  with  headiands  every  marsh  they  drain. 
Haste  then,  my  heroes,  tempt  the  fearless  toil, 
tnrich  your  nations  with  the  nurturing  spoil;  59f> 


156  COLUMBIA!*.  BOOK  IV. 

O'er  my  vast  vales  let  yellow  harvests  wave, 
Quay  the  calm  ports  and  dike  the  lawns  I  lave, 
\\  in  from  the  waters  every  stagnant  fen, 
Where  truant  rills  escape  my  conscious  ken; 
And  break  those  remnant  rocks  that  still  impede 
My  current  crowding  thro  the  gaps  I  made. 

So  shall  your  barks  pursue  my  branching  bed, 
Slope  after  slope,  to  every  fountain's  head, 
Seat  your  contiguous  towns  on  all  my  shores 
And  charge  my  channel  with  their  seaward  stores.     60€> 
Freedom  and  Peace  shall  well  reward  your  care, 
My  guardian  mounds  protect  the  friendly  pair; 
Or  if  delirious  War  shall  dare  draw  nigh 
And  eastern  storms  o'ercast  the  western  sky, 
My  soil  shall  rear  the  chief  to  guide  your  host 
And  drive  the  demon  cringing  from  the  coast; 
Yon  verdant  hill  his  sylvan  seat  shall  claim 
And  grow  immortal  from  his  deathless  fame. 

Then  shall  your  federal  towers  my  bank  adorn 
And  hail  with  me  the  great  millennial  morn  610 

That  gilds  your  capitol.  Thence  earth  shall  draw 
Her  first  clear  codes  of  liberty  and  law; 
There  public  right  a  settled  form  shall  find, 
Truth  trim  her  lamp  to  lighten  humankind.* 


BOOKfY.  COLUMBIAD.  157 

Old  Afric's  sons  their  shameful  fetters  cast, 
Our  wild  Hesperians  humanize  at  last, 
All  men  participate,  all  time  expand 
The  source  of  good  my  liberal  sages  plann'd. 

This  said,  he  plunges  in  the  sacred  flood; 
That  closes  calm  and  lulls  the  cradled  god.  62(3 

Exulting  at  his  words,  the  gallant  crew- 
Brace  the  broad  canvas  and  their  course  pursue: 
For  now  the  breathing  airs,  from  ocean  born, 
Breeze  up  the  bay  and  lead  the  lively  morn 
That  lights  them  to  their  port.  Tis  here  they  join 
Their  bold  precursors  in  the  work  divine; 
And  here  their  followers,  yet  a  numerous  train, 
Wind  o'er  the  wave  and  swell  the  new  domain. 
For  impious  Laud  on  England's  wasted  shore 
Renews  the  flames  that  Mary  fed  before;  6oC 

Contristed  sects  his  sullen  fury  fly 
To  seek  new  seats  beneath  a  safer  sky; 
Where  faith  and  freedom  yield  a  forceful  charm. 
And  toils  and  dangers  every  bosom  warm. 

Amid  the  tried  unconquerable  train 
Whom  tyrants  press  and  seas  oppose  in  vain* 
See  Plymouth  colons  stretch  their  standards  o'er. 
Face  the  dark  wildmen  and  the  wintrv  shore: 
Vol.  I.  O 


158  COLUMBTAD.  BOOK  IV. 

See  virtuous  Baltimore  ascend  the  wave, 

See  peaceful  Penn  its  unknown  terrors  brave;  640 

Swedes,  Belgians,  Gauls  their  various  flags  display,  %. 

Full  pinions  crowding  on  the  watery  way; 

All  from  their  different  ports,  their  sails  unfurl'd, 

Point  their  glad  streamers  to  the  western  world. 


THE 


COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  V. 


ARGUMENT. 

Vision  confined  to  North  America.  Progress  of  the 
colonies.  Troubles  with  the  natives.  Settlement  of  Cana- 
da. Spirit  of  the  English  and  French  colonies  compared. 
Hostilities  between  France  and  England  extended  to 
America.  Braddcck's  defeat.  Washington  saves  the  re- 
lics of  the  English  army.  Actions  of  Abercrombie,  Am- 
herst, Wolfe.  Peace.  Darkness  overspreads  the  continent. 
Apprehensions  of  Columbus  from  that  appearance. 
Cause  explained.  Cloud  bursts  away  in  the  centre.  View 
of  congress  and  of  the  different  regions  from  which  its 
members  are  delegated.  Their  endeavours  to  arrest  the 
violence  of  England  compared  with  those  of  the  Genius 
of  Rome  to  dissuade  Cesar  from  passing  the  Rubicon. 
The  demon  War  stalking  over  the  ocean  and  leading  on 
the  English  invasion.  Conflagration  of  towns  from  Fal- 
mouth to  Norfolk.  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  seen  thro  the 
smoke.  Death  of  Warren.  American  army  assembles, 
Review  of  its  chiefs.  Speech  of  Washington.  Actions  and 
death  of  Montgomery.  Loss  of  Newyork. 


THE 

COLUMBIAN 

BOOK  V. 

Columbus  hail'd  them  with  a  father's  smile, 
Fruit  of  his  cares  and  children  of  his  toil; 
While  still  his  eyes  thro  tears  of  joy  descried 
Their  course  adventurous  on  the  distant  tide. 
Thus  when  o'er  deluged  earth  her  Numen  stood, 
The  tost  ark  bounding  on  the  shoreless  flood, 
The  sacred  treasure  fixt  his  guardian  view, 
While  climes  unnoticed  in  the  wave  withdrew. 

The  Hero  saw  them  reach  the  rising  strand, 
Leap  from  their  ships  and  share  the  joyous  land;         10 
Receding  forests  yield  the  laborers  room, 
And  opening  wilds  with  fields  and  gardens  bloom 
Fill'd  with  the  glance  ecstatic,  all  his  soul 
Now  seems  unbounded  with  the  scene  to  roli* 

02 


*62  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  \ 

And  now  impatient,  with  retorted  eye, 

Perceives  his  station  in  another  sky: 

Waft  me,  indulgent  Angel,  waft  me  o'er 

With  those  blest  heroes  to  the  happy  shore; 

There  let  me  live  and  die.  But  all  appears 

A  fleeting  vision!  these  are  future  years.  20 

Yet  grunt  the  illusion  still  may  nearer  spread 

And  my  glad  steps  may  seem  their  walks  to  tread; 

While  Europe  wrapt  in  momentary  night 

Shall  rise  no  more  to  intercept  the  sight. 

Columbus  thus;  when  Hesper's  potent  hand 
Moves  brightening  o'er  the  visionary  land; 
The  height  that  bore  them  still  sublimer  grew 
And  earth's  whole  circuit  settled  from  their  view. 
A  dusky  deep  serene  as  breathless  even 
Seem'd  vaulting  downward  like  another  heaven;  30 

The  sun,  rejoicing  on  his  western  way, 
Stampt  his  fair  image  in  the  inverted  day: 
When  now  Hesperia's  coast  arose  more  nigh 
And  life  and  action  fill'd  the  dancing  eye. 

Between  the  gulfs,  where  Laurence  drains  the  world 
And  where  Floridia's  furthest  floods  are  curl'd, 
Where  midlands  broad  their  swelling  mountains  heave 
And  slope  their  champ  the  Atlantic  wave, 


BOOKV  (JOLLMUIAD.  163 

The  sandy  streambank  and  the  woodgreen  plain 

Raise  into  sight  the  new  made  seats  of  man.  40 

The  placid  ports  that  break  the  seaborn  gales 

Rear  their  tail  masts  and  stretch  aloft  their  sails; 

Full  harvests  wave,  the  groves  with  fruitage  bend, 

Gay  villas  smile,  defensive  towers  ascend; 

All  the  rich  works  of  art  their  charms  display 

To  court  the  planter  and  his  cares  repay: 

Till  war  invades;  when  soon  the  dales  disclose 

Their  meadows  path'd  with  files  of  savage  foes; 

High  tufted  quills  their  painted  foreheads  press, 

Dark  spoils  of  beasts  their  shaggy  shoulders  dress,      50 

The  bow  bent  forward  for  the  combat  strung, 

The  ax,  the  quiver  on  the  girdle  hung; 

The  deep  discordant  yells  convulse  the  air, 

And  earth  resounds  the  war  whoop's  hideous  blare. 

The  Patriarch  look'd;  and  every  darken'd  height 
Pours  down  the  swarthy  nations  to  the  fight. 
Where  Kennebec's  high  source  forsakes  the  sky, 
Where  long  Champlain's  yet  unkeel'd  waters  lie, 
Where  Hudson  crowds  his  hill-dissundering  tide, 
Where  Kaatskill  heights  the  starry  vault  divide,  6G 

Where  the  dim  Alleganies  range  sublime 
,And  give  their  streams  to  every  neighboring  clime, 


x04  OOLLMBIAU.  BOOK  > 

The  swarms  descended  like  an  evening  shade. 
And  wolves  and  vultures  follow'd  where  they  spread. 
Thus  when  a  storm  on  eastern  pinions  driven 
Meets  the  firm  Andes  in  the  midst  of  heaven, 
The  clouds  convulse,  the  torrents  pour  amain 
And  the  black  waters  sweep  the  subject  plain. 

Thro  harvest  fields  the  bloody  myriads  tread,. 
Sack  the  lone  village,  strow  the  streets  with  dead;       7€ 
The  flames  in  spiry  volumes  round  them  rise, 
And  shrieks  and  shouts  redoubling  rend  the  skies. 
Fair  babes  and  matrons  in  their  domes  expire 
Or  bursting  frantic  thro  the  folding  fire 
They  scream,  fly,  fall;  promiscuous  rave  along 
The  yelling  victors  and  the  driven  throng; 
The  streams  run  purple;  all  the  peopled  shore 
Is  wrapt  in  flames  and  trod  with  steps  of  gore. 
Till  colons,  gathering  from  the  shorelands  far, 
Stretch  their  new  standards  and  oppose  the  war,  80 

With  muskets  match  the  many-shafted  bow, 
With  loud  artillery  stun  the  astonisht  foe. 
When  like  a  broken  wave  the  barbarous  train 
Lead  back  the  flight  and  scatter  from  the  plain, 
Slay  their  weak  captives,  drop  their  shafts  in  haste, 
Forget  their  spoils  and  scour  the  trackless  waste; 


BOOK  V.  COLL.MBIA1)  \Q>5 

From  wood  to  wood  in  wild  confusion  hurl'd 

They  hurry  o'er  the  hills  far  thro  the  savage  world. 

Now  move  secure  the  cheerful  works  of  peace, 
New  temples  rise  and  fruitful  fields  increase.  90 

Where  Delaware's  wide  waves  behold  with  pride 
Penn's  beauteous  town  ascending  on  their  side, 
The  crossing  streets  in  just  allinement  run, 
The  walls  and  pavements  sparkle  to  the  sun, 
Like  that  famed  city  rose  the  checker'd  plan, 
Whose  spacious  towers  Semiramis  began; 
Long  ages  finisht  what  her  hand  design'd, 
The  pride  of  kings  and  wonder  of  mankind. 

Newyork  ascends  o'er  Hudson's  seaward  isles 
And  flings  the  sunbeams  from  her  glittering  tiles;     100 
Albania,  opening  thro  the  distant  wood, 
Rolls  her  rich  treasures  on  her  parent  flood; 
Amid  a  thousand  sails  young  Boston  laves, 
High  looms  majestic  Newport  o'er  the  waves, 
Patapsco's  bay  contracts  his  yielding  side, 
As  spreading  Baltimore  invades  his  tide; 
Aspiring  Richmond  tops  the  bank  of  James, 
And  Charleston  sways  her  two  contending  streams. 

Thro  each  colonial  realm,  for  wisdom  great, 
Sleeted  sires  assume  the  cares  of  state;  1 16 


166  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  > 

Nursed  in  equality,  to  freedom  bred, 

Firm  is  their  step  and  strait  the  paths  they  tread; 

Dispensing  justice  with  paternal  hand, 

By  laws  of  peace  they  rule  the  happy  land; 

While  reason's  page  their  statute  codes  unfold, 

And  rights  and  charters  flame  in  figured  gold. 

All  rights  that  Britons  know  they  here  transfuse, 

Their  sense  invigorate  and  expand  their  news. 

Dare  every  height  of  human  soul  to  scan, 

Find,  fathom,  scope  the  moral  breadth  of  man,  120 

Learn  how  his  social  powers  may  still  dilate 

And  tone  their  tension  to  a  stronger  state. 

Round  the  long  glade  where  lordly  Laurence  strays 
Gaul's  migrant  sons  their  forts  and  villas  raise, 
Stretch  over  Canada  their  colon  sway 
And  circling  far  beneath  the  western  day 
Plant  sylvan  Wabash  with  a  watchful  post, 
O'er  Missisippi  spread  a  mantling  host, 
Bid  Louisiana's  lovely  clime  prepare 
New  arts  to  prove  and  infant  states  to  rear; 
While  the  bright  lakes,  that  wide  behind  them  spread, 
Unfold  their  channels  to  the  paths  of  trade, 
Ohio's  waves  their  destined  honors  claim 
And  smile  as  conscious  of  approaching  fame. 


ROOK  A  .  COLUMBIA*  167 

But  Gallic  planters  still  their  trammels  wear, 
Their  feudal  genius  still  attends  them  here; 
Dependent  feelings  for  a  distant  throne 
Gyve  the  crampt  soul  that  fears  to  think  alone, 
Demand. their  rulers  from  the  parent  land, 
Laws  ready  made  and  generals  to  command.  146 

Judge,  priest  and  pedagogue  and  all  the  slaves 
Of  foreign  masters  crowding  o'er  the  waves 
Spread  thick  the  shades  of  vassajage  and  sloth, 
Absorb  their  labors  and  prevent  their  growth, 
Damp  every  thought  that  might  their  tyrants  brave, 
And  keep  the  vast  domain  a  desert  and  a  grave. 

Too  soon  the  mother  states  with  jealous  fear 
Transport  their  feuds  and  homebred  quarrels  here. 
Now  Gallia's  war-buiit  barks  ascend  in  sight, 
White  flags  unfold  and  armies  robed  in  white,  150 

■On  all  the  frontier  streams  their  forts  prepare 
And  coop  our  cantons  with  surrounding  war. 
Quebec,  as  proud  she  rears  her  rocky  seat, 
Feeds  their  full  camp  and  shades  their  anchor'd  fleet; 
Oswego's  rampart  frowns  athwart  his  flood, 
And  wild  Ontario  swells  beneath  his  ]oad. 

And  now  a  friendly  host  from  Albion's  strand 
Arrives  to  aid  her  young  colonial  band. 


168  COLUMBIAD.  ftOOK  V 

They  join  their  force  and  tow'rd  the  falling  day 
Impetuous  Braddock  leads  their  hasty  way;  160 

O'er  Allegany  heights,  like  streams  of  fire, 
The  red  flags  wave  and  glittering  arms  aspire 
To  meet  the  savage  hordes,  who  there  advance 
Their  skulking  files  to  join  the  arms  of  France. 

Where,  old  as  earth,  yet  still  unstain'd  with  bloody 
Monongahela  roll'd  his  careless  flood, 
Flankt  with  his  mantling  groves  the  fountful  hills, 
DrainM  the  vast  region  thro  his  thousand  rills, 
Lured  o'er  his  lawns  the  buffle  herds  and  spread 
For  all  his  fowls  his  piscatory  glade;  170 

But  now  perceives,  with  hostile  flag  unfurl'd, 
A  Gallic  fortress  awe  the  western  world; 
There  Braddock  bends  his  march;  the  troops  within 
Behold  their  danger  and  the  fire  begin. 
Forth  bursting  from  the  gates  they  rush  amain, 
Front,  flank  and  charge  the  fast  approaching  train; 
The  batteries  blaze,  the  leaden  vollies  pour, 
The  vales,  the  streams,  the  solid  mountains  roar; 
Clouds  of  convolving  smoke  the  welkin  spread, 
The  champaign  shrouding  in  sulphureous  shade.       18$ 
Lost  in  the  rocking  thunder's  loud  career, 
No  shouts  nor  groans  invade  the  Patriarch's  ear? 


BOOK  \.  (  OLUMB1AU 

Nor  valorous  feats  are  seen  nor  flight  nor  fall, 

But  one  broad  burst  of  darkness  buries  all. 

Till  chased  by  rising  winds  the  smoke  withdrew, 

And  the  wide  slaughter  open'd  on  his  view. 

He  saw  the  British  leader  borne  afar 

In  dust  and  gore  beyond  the  wings  of  war; 

And  while  delirious  panic  seized  his  host, 

Their  flags,  their  arms  in  wild  confusion  tost, 

Bold  in  ffie  midst  a  youthful  warrior  strode 

And  tower'd  undaunted  o'er  the  field  of  blood; 

He  checks  the  shameful  rout,  writh  vengeance  burns, 

And  the  pale  Britons  brighten  where  he  turns. 

So  when  thick  vapors  veil  the  nightly  sky 

The  stariy  hosts  in  half  seen  lustre  fly 

Till  Phosphor  rises  o'er  the  twinkling  crowd 

And  gives  new  splendor  thro  his  parting  cloud. 

Swift  on  a  fiery  steed  the  stripling  rose, 

Form'd  the  light  files  to  pierce  the  line  of  foes;  200 

Then  waved  his  gleamy  sword  that  flasht  the  day 

And  thro  the  Gallic  legions  hew'd  his  way: 

His  troops  press  forward  like  a  loose-broke  flood, 

Sweep  ranks  away  and  smear  their  paths  in  blood; 

The  hovering  foes  pursue  the  combat  far 

And  shower  their  balls  along  the  flying  war; 

Vol.  I.  v  P 


17©  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  V. 

When  the  new  leader  turns  his  single  force, 

Points  the  flight  forward,  speeds  his  backward  course; 

The  French  recoiling  half  their  victory  yield, 

And  the  glad  Britons  quit  the  fatal  field.  210 

These  deathful  deeds  as  great  Columbus  eyed. 
With  anxious  tone  he  thus  addrest  the  Guide: 
Why  combat  here  these  transatlantic  bands 
And  strow  their  corses  thro  thy  pathless  lands? 
Can  Europe's  realms,  the  seat  of  endless  strife. 
Afford  no  trophies  for  the  waste  of  life? 
Can  monarchs  there  no  proud  applauses  gain, 
No  living  laurel  for  their  people  slain? 
Nor  Belgia's  plains,  so  fertile  made  with  gore, 
Hide  heroes'  bones  nor  feast  the  vultures  more?        220 
Will  Rhine  no  longer  cleanse  the  crimson  stain, 
Nor  Danube  bear  their  bodies  to  the  main, 
That  infant  empires  here  the  shock  m   ust  feel  , 
And  these  pure  streams  with  foreign  carnage  swell? 
But  who  that  chief?  his  name,  his  nation  say, 
Whose  lifeblood  seems  his  follies  to  repay; 
And  who  the  youth  that  from  the  combat  lost 
Springs  up  and  saves  the  remnant  of  his  host? 

The  Power  replied:  Each  age  successive  brings 
Their  varying  views  to  earth's  contentious  kings;     230 


BOOK  V  :AD  171 

Here  roll  the  years  when  Albion's  parent  hand, 

In  aid  of  thy  brave  children,  guards  the  land; 

That  growing  states  their  veteran  force  may  train, 

A  nobler  prize  in  later  fields  to  gain; 

In  fields  where  Albion's  self  shall  turn  their  foe. 

Spread  broader  sails  and  aim  a  deadlier  blow, 

Recross  in  evil  hour  the  astonisht  wave, 

Her  own  brave  sons  to  ravage  and  enslave. 

But  here  she  combats  with  the  powers  of  Gaul; 

Here  her  bold  Braddock  finds  his  destined  fall;  240 

Thy  Washington  in  that  young  martial  frame 

From  yon  lost  field  begins  a  life  of  fame. 

Tis  he,  in  future  straits  with  loftier  stride, 

The  colon  states  to  sovereign  rule  shall  guide; 

When,  prest  by  wrongs,  their  ow^n  full  force  they  find, 

To  wield  the  sword  for  man  and  bulwark  humankind. 

The  Seraph  spoke;  when  thro  the  purpled  air 
The  northern  armies  spread  the  flames  of  war. 
Swift  o'er  the  lake  to  Crownpoint's  fortful  strand 
Rash  Abercrombie  leads  his  headlong  band  250 

To  fierce  unequal  fight;  the  batteries  roar, 
Shield  the  strong  foes  and  rake  the  banner'd  shore; 
Britannia's  sons  again  the  contest  yield; 
Again  proud  Gaul  triumphant  sweeps  the  field. 


1  72  COLUMBIAN.  BOOK  V 

But  Amherst  quick  renews  the  raging  toil 
And  drives  vide  hosting  o'er  Acadia's  isle; 
Young  Woite  beside  him  points  the  lifted  lance, 
The  boast  of  Britain  and  the  scourge  of  France. 
The  tide  of  victory  here  the  heroes  turn 
And  Gallic  navies  in  their  harbors  burn; 
High  flame  the  ships,  the  billows  swell  with  gore, 
\nd  the  red  standard  shades  the  conquer'd  shore. 

Wolfe,  now  detacht  and  bent  on  bolder  deeds, 
A  sail-borne  host  up  sealike  Laurence  leads, 
Stems  the  long  lessening  tide;  till  Abraham's  height 
And  famed  Quebec  rise  frowning  into  sight. 
Swift  bounding  on  the  bank,  the  foe  they  claim, 
Climb  the  tall  mountain,  like  a  rolling  flame, 
Push  wide  their  wings  high  bannering  bright  the  air 
And  move  to  fight,  as  comers  cope  in  war.  270 

The  smoke  falls  folding  thro  the  downward  sky 
And  shrouds  the  mountain  from  the  patriarch's  eye; 
While  on  the  towering  top,  in  glare  of  day, 
The  flashing  swords  in  fiery  arches  play. 
As  on  a  side-seen  storm,  adistance  driven, 
The  flames  fork  round  the  semivault  of  heaven. 
Thick  thunders  roll,  descending  torrents  flow 
Dash  down  the  clouds  and  whelm  the  hills  belt- 


1S00K  Y,  COLUMBIAN.  17 S 

Or  as  on  plains  of  light  wi*en  Michael  strove, 

The  swords  of  cherubim  to  combat  move,  280 

Ten  thousand  fiery  forms  together  fray 

And  flash  new  lightning  on  empyreal  day. 

Long  raged  promiscuous  combat,  half  conceal'd, 
When  sudden  parle  suspended  all  the  field; 
Then  roar  the  shouts,  the  smoke  forsakes  the  plain. 
And  the  huge  hill  is  topt  with  heaps  of  slain. 
Stretcht  high  in  air  Britannia's  standard  waved 
And  good  Columbus  hail'd  his  country  saved; 
While  calm  and  silent,  where  the  ranks  retire, 
He  saw  brave  Wolfe  in  victory's  arms  expire.  290 

So  the  pale  moon,  when  morning  beams  arise, 
Veils  her  lone  visage  in  her  midway  skies; 
She  ~  eeds  no  longer  drive  the  shades  away, 
Nor  waits  to  view  the  glories  of  the  day. 

Again  the  towns  aspire;  the  cultured  field 

And  crowded  mart  their  copious  treasures  yield; 

Back  to  his  plow  the  colon  soldier  moves, 

And  songs  of  triumph  fill  the  wTarbling  groves, 

The  conscious  flocks,  returning  joys  that  share, 

Spread  thro  the  grassland  o'er  the  walks  of  war;         300 

Streams  freed  of  gore  their  crystal  course  regain; 

Serener  sunbeams  gild  thetentless  plain; 

P2 


174  COLUMBIA  D  BOOK  V 

A  general  jubilee  o'er  earth  and  heaven 

Leads  the  gay  morn  and  lights  the  lambent  even. 

Rejoicing,  confident  of  long  repose, 
(Their  friends  triumphant,  far  retired  their  foes) 
The  British  colonies  now  feel  their  sway 
Span  the  whole  north  and  crowd  the  western  cL 
Acadia,  Canada,  earth's  total  side, 

From  Slave's  long  lake  to  Pensacola's  tide,  310 

Expand  their  soils  for  them;  and  here  unfold 
A  range  of  highest  hope,  a  promised  age  of  gold. 

But  soon  from  eastern  seas  dark  vapors  rise, 
Sweep  the  vast  Occident  and  shroud  the  skies, 
Snatch  all  the  vision  from  the  Hero's  sight 
And  wrap  the  coast  in  sudden  shades  of  night. 
He  turn'd  and  sorrowful  besought  the  Power: 
Why  sinks  the  scene?  or  must  I  view  no  more? 
Must  here  the  fame  of  that  young  world  descend? 
Shall  our  brave  children  find  so  quick  their  end?        320 
Where  then  the  promised  grace?  "  Thou  soon  shalt  see 
That  half  mankind  shall  owe  their  seats  to  thee." 

The  Saint  replied:  Ere  long,  beneath  thy  view 
The  scene  shall  brighten  and  thy  joys  renew. 
Here  march  the  troublous  years  when  goaded  sore 
Thy  sons  shall  rise  to  change  the  ruling  power; 


\  UMBIAD 

When  Albion's  prince.  •  s  the  happy  land. 

To  lawless  rule  extends  his  tyrant  hand, 
To  bind  in  slavery's  bands  the  peaceful  host, 
Their  rights  unguarded  and  their  charters  lost. 
Now  raise  thine  eye;  from  this  delusive  claim 
What  nations  leap  to  life,  what  deeds  adorn  their  fa 

Columbus  look'd;  and  still  around  them  spread 
From  south  to  north  the  immeasurable  shade; 
At  last  the  central  darkness  burst  away, 
And  rising  regions  open'd  on  the  day. 
Once  more  bright  Delaware's  commercial  stream 
And  Penn's  throng'd  city  cast  a  cheerful  gleam; 
The  dome  of  state,  as  conscious  of  his  eye, 
Now  seem'd  to  silver  in  a  loftier  sky,  340 

Unfolding  fair  its  gates;  when  lo,  within 
The  assembled  states  in  solemn  Congress  shine. 

The  sires  elect  from  every  province  came, 
Where  wide  Columbia  bore  the  British  name, 
Where  Freedom's  sons  their  highborn  lineage33  trace, 
And  homebred  bravery  still  exalts  the  race: 
Her  sons  who  plant  each  various  vast  domain 
That  Chesapeak's  uncounted  currents  drain; 
The  race  who  Roanoke's  clear  stream  bestride, 
Who  fell  the  pine  en  Apalachia's  sid 


MBIAU  BOOK  V 

To  Albemarle's  wide  wave  who  trust  their  store, 
Who  dike  proud  Pamiio  3ie  shore, 

Whose  groaning  barks  o'erload  the  long  Santee, 
Wind  thro  the  realms  and  labor  to  the  sea, 

ir  cumbrous  cargoes  to  the  sail  consign'd 
Seek  distant  worlds  and  feed  and  clothe  mankind;, 
The  :  sc  rice  fields  suck  Savanna's  urn, 

es  Oconee's  bank  adorn; 
Who  freight  the  Delaware  with  golden  grain, 
Who  tame  their  steeds  on  Mon mouth's  flowery  plain,  36ft 
From  huge  Toconnok  hills  who  drag  their  ore 
And  sledge  their  corn  to  Hudson's  quay-built  shore, 
Who  keel  Connecticut's  iong  meadowy  viae, 
With  patient  plow  his  fallow  plains  divide, 
Spread  their  white  flocks  o'er  Narraganset's  vale 
Or  chase  to  each  chill  pole  the  monstrous  whale; 
Whose  venturous  prows  have  borne  their  fame  afar, 
Tamed  all  the  seas  and  steer'd  by  every  star, 
Dispensed  to  earth's  whole  habitants  their  store 
And  with  their  bitii  ;  v*d  every  shore 

The  virtuous  n  ith  pain 

The  hostile  Britons  hovering  o'er  the  main, 
Lament  the  strife  that  bids  two  worlds  en;;, 
And  blot  their  annals  with  fraternal  rage; 


BOOK  v  COLUMBIA*  177 

Two  worlds  in  one  broad  state!  whose  bounds  bestride, 

Like  heaven's  blue  arch,  the  vast  Atlantic  tide, 

By  language,  laws  and  liberty  combined, 

Great  nurse  of  thought,  example  to  mankind. 

Columbia  rears  her  warning  voice  in  vain, 

Brothers  to  brothers  call  across  the  main;  S8C 

Britannia's  patriots  lend  a  listening  ear, 

But  kings  and  courtiers  push  their  mad  career; 

Dissension  raves,  the  sheathless  falchions  glare, 

And  earth  and  ocean  tremble  at  the  war. 

Thus  with  stern  brow,  as  worn  by  cares  of  state, 
His  bosom  big  with  dark  unfolding  fate, 
High  o'er  his  lance  the  sacred  Eagle  spread, 
And  earth's  whole  crown  still  resting  on  his  head, 
Rome's  hoary  Genius  rose  and  mournful  stood 
On  roaring  Rubicon's  forbidden  flood,  390 

When  Cesar's  ensigns  swept  the  Alpine  air, 
Led  their  long  legions  from  the  Gallic  war, 
Paused  on  the  opposing  bank  with  wings  unfurl'd, 
And  waved  portentous  o'er  the  shuddering  world. 
The  god,  with  outstretch!  arm  and  awful  look, 
Call'd  the  proud  victor  and  prophetic  spoke: 
Arrest,  my  son,  thy  parricidious  hate, 
Pass  not  the  stream  nor  stab  my  filial  state, 


1 YS  COLUMBIA©.  BOOK  V. 

Stab  not  thyself,  thy  friends,  thy  total  kind 

And  worlds  and  ages  in  one  state  combined.  400 

The  chief  regardless  of  the  warning  god 

Rein'd  his  rude  steed  and  headlong  past  the  flood, 

Crku,  farewel  Peace!  took  Fortune  for  his  guide 

And  o'er  his  country  pour'd  the  slaughtering  tide. 

High  on  the  foremost  seat  in  living  light 
Resplendent  Randolph  caught  the  world's  full  sight. 
He  opes  the  cause'and  points  in  prospect  far 
Thro  all  the  toils  that  wait  impending  war: 
But,  reverend  sage!  thy  race  must  soon  be  o'er, 
To  lend  thy  lustre  and  to  shine  no  more.  4 10 

So  the  mild  morning  star  from  shades  of  even 
Leads  up  the  dawn  and  lights  the  front  of  heaven, 
Points  to  the  waking  world  the  sun's  broad  way, 
Then  veils  his  own  and  vaults  above  the  day. 
And  see  bright  Washington  behind  thee  rise, 
Thy  following  sun  to  gild  our  morning  skies, 
O'er  shadowy  climes  to  pour  enlivening  flame, 
The  charms  of  freedom  and  the  fire  of  fame. 
For  him  the  patriot  bay  beheld  with  pride 
The  hero's  laurel  springing  by  its  side; 
His  sword  still  sleeping  rested  on  his  thigh, 
On  Britain  still  he  cast  a  filial  eve; 


BOOK\.  C0LUMB1AJD  179 

But  sovereign  fortitude  his  visage  bore, 
To  meet  her  legions  on  the  invaded  shore. 

Sage  Franklin  next  arose  with  cheerful  mien 
And  smiled  unruffled  o'er  the  solemn  scene; 
His  locks  of  age  a  various  wreath  embraced. 
Palm  of  all  arts  that  e'er  a  mortal  graced; 
Beneath  him  lay  the  sceptre  kings  had  borne 
And  the  tame  thunder34  from  the  tempest  torn.         4 JO 

Wythe,  Mason,  Pendleton  with  Henry  join'd. 
Rush,  Rodney?  Langdon,  friends  of  humankind. 
Persuasive  Dickinson  the  farmer's  boast, 
Recording  Thomson  pride  of  all  the  host, 
Nash,  Jay,  the  Livingstons,  in  council  great, 
Rutledge  and  Laurens  held  the  rolls  of  fate. 
O'er  wide  creation  turn'd  their  ardent  eyes 
And  bade  the  opprest  to  selfexistence  rise; 
All  powers  of  state,  in  their  extended  plan, 
Spring  from  consent,  to  shield  the  rights  of  man.       44 
Undaunted  Wolcott  urged  the  holy  cause, 
With  steady  hand  the  solemn  scene  he  draws; 
Stern  thoughtful  temperance  with  his  ardor  join'd, 
Nor  kings  nor  worlds  could  warp  his  stedfast  mind. 

With  graceful  ease  but  energetic  tones 
And  eloquence  that  shook  a  thousand  thrones, 


180  COLUMBIAN  BOl 

Majestic  Hosmer  stood;  the  expanding  soul 

Darts  from  his  eyebeams  while  his  accents  roll. 

But  lo,  the  shaft  of  death  untimely  flew 

And  fell'd  the  patriot  from  the  Hero's  view;  450 

Wrapt  in  the  funeral  shroud  he  sees  descend 

The  guide  of  nations  and  the  Muse's  friend. 

Columbus  dropt  a  tear;  while  Hesper's  eye 

Traced  the  freed  spirit  mounting  thro' the  sky. 

Each  generous  Adams,  freedom's  favorite  pair, 
And  Hancock  rose  the  tyrant's  rage  to  dare, 
Groupt  with  firm  Jefferson,  her  steadiest  hope, 
Of  modest  mien  but  vast  unclouded  scope. 
Like  four  strong  pillars  ofjier  state  they  stand. 
They  clear  from  doubt  her  brave  but  wavering  band;  460 
Colonial  charters  in  their  hands  they  bore 
And  lawless  acts  of  ministerial  power. 
Some  injured  right  in  every  page  appears, 
A  king  in  terrors  and  a  land  in  tears; 
From  all  his  guileful  plots  the  veil  they  drew, 
With  eye  retortive  look'd  creation  thro, 
Traced  moral  nature  thro  her  total  plan, 
Markt  all  the  steps  of  liberty  and  man; 
Crowds  rose  to  reason  while  their  accents  rung, 
.\nd  Independence  thunder'd  from  their  tongue. 


BOOKV.  COLUMB1AD  181 

Columbus  tunvd;  when  rolling  to  the  shore 
Swells  o'er  the  seas  an  undulating  roar; 
Slow,  dark,  portentous,  as  the  meteors  sweep 
And  curtain  black  the  illimitable  deep, 
High  stalks,  from  surge  to  surge,  a  demon  Form 
That  howls  thro  heaven  and  breathes  a  billowing  stori;  . 
His  head  is  hung  with  clouds;  his  giant  hand 
Flings  a  blue  flame  far  flickering  to  the  land; 
His  blood-stain'd  limbs  drip  carnage  as  he  strides 
And  taint  with  gory  grume  the  staggering  tides;        480 
Like  two  red  suns  his  quivering  eyeballs  glare, 
His  mouth  disgorges  all  the  stores  of  war, 
Pikes,  muskets,  mortars,  guns  and  globes  of  fire 
And  lighted  bombs  that  fusing  trails  expire. 
Percht  on  his  helmet,  two  twin  sisters  rode, 
The  favorite  offspring  of  the  murderous  god, 
Famine  and  Pestilence;  whom  whilom  bore 
His  wife,  grim  Discord,  on  Trinacria's  shore; 
When  first  their  cyclop  sons,  from  Etna's  forge, 
FilPd  his  foul  magazine,  his  gaping  gorge:  490 

Then  earth  convulsive  groan'd,  high  shriek'd  the  air, 
And  hell  in  gratulation  call'd  him  War. 

Behind  the  fiend,  swift  hovering  for  the  coast, 
Hangs  o'er  the  wave  Britannia's  saii-wing'd  host; 

Vol.  I.  Q 


182  COLUMBIAD.  liOOK  V. 

They  crowd  the  main,  they  spread  their  sheets  abroad 
From  the  wide  Laurence  to  the  Georgian  flood, 
Point  their  black  batteries  to  the  peopled  shore, 
And  spouting  flames  commence  the  hideous  roar. 

Where  fortless  Falmouth,  looking  o'er  her  bay, 
In  terror  saw  the  approaching  thunders  play,  500 

The  fire  begins;  the  shells  o'er-arching  fly 
And  shoot  a  thousand  rainbows  thro  the  sky; 
On  Charlestown  spires,  on  Bedford  roofs  they  light, 
Groton  and  Fairfield  kindle  from  the  flight, 
Nor  walk  expands  the  blaze;  o'er  Reading  hills 
High  flaming  Danbury  the  welkin  fills; 
Esopus  burns,  Newyork's  delightful  fanes 
And  sea-nursed  Norfolk  light  the  neighboring  plains. 
From  realm  to  realm  the  smoky  volumes  bend, 
Reach  round  the  bays  and  up  the  streams  extend;      5  10 
Deep  o'er  the  concave  heavy  wreaths  are  roll'd, 
And  midland  towns  and  distant  groves  infold. 

Thro  solid  curls  of  smoke  the  bursting  fires 
Climb  in  tall  pyramids  above  the  spires, 
Concentring  all  the  winds;  whose  forces,  driven 
With  equal  rage  from  every  point  of  heaven, 
Whirl  into  conflict,  round  the  scantling  pour 
The  twisting  flames  and  thro  the  rafters  roar, 


KOOKY.  COLUMBIAD.  \8C 

Suck  up  the  cinders,  send  them  sailing  far, 
To  warn  the  nations  of  the  raging  war,  520 

Bend  high  the  blazing  vortex,  swcll'd  and  curi'd, 
Careering,  brightening  o'er  the  lustred  world, 
Absorb  the  reddening  clouds  that  round  them  run, 
Lick  the  pale  stars  and  mock  their  absent  sun: 
Seas  catch  the  splendor,  kindling  skies  resound, 
And  falling  structures  shake  the  smoldering  ground. 

Crowds  of  wild  fugitives,  with  frantic  tread, 
Flit  thro  the  flames  that  pierce  the  midnight  shade. 
Back  on  the  burning  domes  revert  their  eyes, 
Where  some  lost  Mend,  some  perisht  infant  lies.      530 
Their  maim'd,  their  sick,  their  age-enfeebled  sires 
Have  sunk  sad  victims  to  the  sateless  fires; 
They  greet  with  one  last  look  their  tottering  walls, 
See  the  blaze  thicken  as  the  ruin  falls, 
Then  o'er  the  country  train  their  dumb  despair 
And  far  behind  them  leave  the  dancing  glare; 
Their  own  crusht  roofs  still  lend  a  trembling  light, 
Point  their  long  shadows  and  direct  their  flight. 
Till  wandering  wide  they  seek  some  cottage  door, 
Ask  the  vile  pittance  due  the  vagrant  poor;  540 

Or  faint  and  faltering  on  the  devious  road, 
They  sink  at  last  and  yield  their  mortal  load. 


184  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  V 

But  where  the  sheeted  flames  thro  Charlestown  roar, 
And  hshing  waves  hiss  round  the  burning  shore, 
Thro  the  deep  folding  fires  dread  Bunker's  height 
Thunders  o'er  all  and  shows  a  field  of  fight. 
Like  nightly  shadows  thro  a  flaming  grove, 
To  the  dark  fray  the  closing  squadrons  move; 
They  join,  they  break,  they  thicken  thro  the  glare, 
And  blazing  batteries  burst  along  the  war;  550 

Now  wrapt  in  reddening  smoke,  now  dim  in  sight, 
They  rake  the  hill  or  wing  the  downward  flight; 
Here,  wheel'd  and  wredgeu?  Britannia's 'veterans  turn 
And  the  long  lightnings  from  their  muskets  bum; 
There  scattering  strive  the  thin  colonial  train, 
Whose  broken  platoons  still  the  field  maintain; 
Till  Biitain's  fresh  battalions  rise  the  height 
And  with  increasing  vollies  give  the  fight. 
When,  choked  with  dust,  discolored  deep  in  gore 
And  gall'd  on  all  sides  from  the  ships  and  shore,        560 
Hesperia's  host  moves  off  the  field  afar 
And  saves,  by  slow  retreat,  the  sad  remains  of  war. 

There  strides  bold  Putnam  and  from  all  the  plains 
Calls  the  tired  troops,  the  tardy  rear  sustains, 
And,  mid  the  whizzing  bolls  that  skim  the  lowe, 
Waves  back  his  sword,  defies  the  following  foe. 


BOOK  \  .  COLUMBIA1).  1 85 

In  this  prime  prelude  of  the  toil  that  waits 
The  nascent  glories  of  his  infant  states, 
Columbus  moum'd  the  slain.  A  numerous  crowd, 
Half  of  each  host,  had  bought  their  fame  with  blood;  570 
From  the  whole  hill  he  saw  the  lifestream  pour 
And  sloping  pathways  trod  with  tracks  of  gore. 
Here,  glorious  Warren,  thy  cold  earth  was  seen, 
Here  spring  thy  laurels  in  immortal  green; 
Dearest  of  chiefs  that  ever  prest  the  plain, 
In  freedom's  cause  with  early  honors  slain; 
Still  dear  in  death,  as  when  before  our  sight 
You  graced  the  senate  or  you  led  the  fight. 
The  grateful  Muse  shall  tell  the  world  your  fame, 
And  unborn  realms  resound  the  deathless  name.       580 

Now  from  all  plains,  as  settling  smokes  decay, 
The  banded  freemen  rise  in  open  day; 
Tall  thro  the  lessening  shadows,  half  conceal'd, 
They  throng  and  gather  in  a  central  field; 
In  unskill'd  ranks  but  ardent  soul  they  stand, 
Claim  quick  the  foe  and  eager  strife  demand. 

In  front  firm  Washington  superior  shone, 
His  eye  directed  to  the  half-seen  sun; 
As  thro  the  cloud  the  bursting  splendors  glow 
And  light  the  passage  to  the  distant  foe.  590 

Q2 


186  COLUMBIA!).  BOOK  V 

His  waving  steel  returns  the  living  day  % 

And  points,  thro  unfought  fields,  the  warrior's  way; 

His  valorous  deeds  to  be  confined  no  more, 

Monongahela,  to  thy  desert  shore. 

Matured  with  years,  with  nobler  glory  warm. 

Fate  in  his  eye  and  empire  on  his  arm, 

He  feels  his  sword  the  strength  of  nations  wield 

And  moves  before  them  with  a  broader  shield. 

Greene  rose  beside  him  emulous  in  arms, 
His  genius  brightening  as  the  danger  warms,  600 

In  counsel  great,  in  every  science  skill'd, 
Pride  of  the  camp  and  terror  of  the  field. 
With  eager  look,  conspicuous  o'er  the  crowd 
And  port  majestic,  brave  Montgomery  strode, 
Bared  his  tried  blade,  with  honor's  call  elate, 
Claim'd  the  first  field  and  hasten'd  to  his  fate. 
Lincoln,  with  force  unfolding  as  he  rose, 
Scoped  the  whole  war  and  measured  well  the  foes; 
Calm,  cautious,  firm,  for  frugal  counsels  known, 
Frugal  of  others'  blood  but  liberal  of  his  own.  610 

Heath  for  impending  toil  his  falchion  draws 
And  fearless  Wooster  aids  the  sacred  cause, 
Mercer  advanced  an  early  death  to  prove, 
Sinclair  and  Mifflin  swift  to  combat  move; 


BOOK  f.OLUMBIAD.  1ST 

Here  stood  stern  Putnam,  scored  with  ancient  scars. 

The  living  records  of  his  country's  wars; 

Wayne  like  a  moving  tower  assumes  his  post. 

Fires  the  whole  field  and  is  himself  a  host; 

Undaunted  Stirling,  prompt  to  meet  his  foc^, 

And  Gates  and  Sullivan  for  action  rose;  62$ 

Macdougal,  Clinton,  guardians  of  the  state, 

Stretch  the  nerved  arm  to  pierce  the  depth  of  fate; 

Marion  with  rapture  seized  the  sword  of  fame, 

Young  Laurens  graced  a  father's  patriot  name; 

Moultrie  and  Sumter  lead  their  banded  powers,  . 

Morgan  in  front  of  his  bold  riflers  towers, 

His  host  of  keen-eyed  marksmen  skill'd  to  pour 

Their  slugs  unerring  from  the  twisted  bore. 

No  sword,  no  bayonet  they  learn  to  wield, 

They  gall  the  flank,  they  skirt  the  battling  field,        630 

Cull  out  the  distant  foe  in  full  horse  speed, 

Couch  the  long  tube  and  eye  the  silver  bead, 

Turn  as  he  turns,  dismiss  the  whizzing  lead 

And  lodge  the  death-ball  in  his  heedless  head. 

So  toil'd  the  huntsman  Tell.  His  quivering  dart, 
Prest  by  the  bended  bowstring,  fears  to  part, 
Dreads  the  tremendous  task,  to  graze  but  shun 
The  tender  temples  of  his  infant  son; 


COLUMBIA  D. 

As  the  loved  youth  (the  tyrant's  victim  k 

Bears  the  poised  apple  tottering  on  his  head. 

The  sullen  father,  with  reverted  eye, 

Now  marks  the  satrap,  now  the  bright-hair'd  L 

His  second  shaft  impatient  lies,  athirst 

To  mend  the  expected  error  of  the  f 

To  pierce  the  monster,  mid  the  insulted 

And  steep  the  pangs  of  nature  in  his  blood. 

Deep  doubling  tow'rd  his  breast,  well  poised  and  slow 

Curve  the  strain'd  horns  of  his  indignant  bow; 

His  left  arm  straitens  as  the  dexter  bends, 

And  his  nerved  knuckle  with  the  gripe  distends;       650 

Soft  slides  the  reed  back  with  the  stiff  drawn  strand, 

Till  the  steel  point  has  reacht  his  steady  hand; 

Then  to  his  keen  fixt  eye  the  shank  he  brings, 

Twangs  the  loud  cord,  the  feather'd  arrow  sings, 

Picks  off  the  pippin  from  the  smiling  boy, 

And  Uri's  rocks  resound  with  shouts  of  joy. 

Soon  by  an  equal  dart  the  tyrant  bleeds, 

The  cantons  league,  the  work  of  fate  proceeds; 

Till  Austria's  titled  hordes  with  their  own  gore 

Fat  the  fair  fields  they  lorded  long  before;  660 

On  Gothard's  height  while  Freedom  first  unfurl'd 

Her  infant  banner  o'er  the  modem  world. 


BOOKV.  COLUMBIAN.  189 

Bland,  Moylan,  Sheldon  the  long  lines  enforce 
With  light-arm'd  scouts,- with  solid  squares  of  horse; 
And  Knox  from  his  full  park  to  battle  brings 
His  brazen  tubes,  the  last  resort  of  kings.35 
The  long  black  rows  in  sullen  silence  wait, 
Their  grim  jaws  gaping,  soon  to  utter  fate; 
When  at  his  word  the  carbon  clouds  shall  rise 
And  well  aim'd  thunders  rock  the  shores  and  skies.  670 

Two  foreign  Youths  had  caught  the  splendent  flame, 
To  fame's  hard  school  the  warm  disciples  came; 
To  learn  sage  Liberty's  unlesson'd  lore, 
To  brave  the  tempest  on  her  war-beat  shore, 
Prometheus  like  to  snatch  a  beam  of  day 
And  homeward  bear  the  unscintillating  ray, 
To  pour  new  life  on  Europe's  languid  horde, 
Where  millions  crouch  beneath  one  stupid  lord. 
Tho  Austria's  keiser  and  the  Russian  czar 
To  dungeons  doom  them  and  with  fetters  mar,  680 

Fayette  o'er  Gaul's  vast  realm  some  light  shall  spread, 
Brave  Kosciusko  rear  Sarmatia's  head; 
From  Garonne's  bank  to  Duna's  wintry  skies 
The  morn  shall  move  and  slumbering  nations  rise. 
And  tho  their  despots  quake  with  wild  alarms 
And  lash  and  agonize  the  world  to  arms, 


190  COLUMBIA!).  BOOK  V 

Whelm  for  awhile  the  untutor'd  race  in  blood 

And  turn  against  themselves  the  raging  flood; 

Yet  shall  the  undying  dawn  with  silent  pace 

Reach  over  earth  and  every  land  embrace;  690 

Till  Europe's  well  taught  sons  the  boon  shall  share 

And  bless  the  labors  of  the  imprison'd  pair. 

So  Leda's  Twins  from  Colchis  raped  the  Fleece 
And  brought  the  treasure  to  their  native  Greece. 
She  haiFd  her  heroes  from  their  finisht  wars, 
Assign'd  their  place  amid  the  cluster'd  stars, 
Bade  round  the  eternal  sky  their  trophies  flame 
And  charged  the  zodiac  with  their  deathless  fame. 
— Here  move  the  strangers,  here  in  freedom's  cause 
His  untried  blade  each  stripling  hero  draw  s,  700 

On  the  great  chief  their  eyes  in  transport  roll, 
And  war  and  Washington  renerve  the  soul. 

Steuben  advanced  in  veteran  armor  drest, 
For  Prussian  lore  distinguisht  o'er  the  rest, 
The  tactic  lore;  to  this  he  bends  his  care 
And  here  transplants  the  discipline  of  war. 
Other  brave  chieftains  of  illustrious  name 
Rise  into  sight  and  equal  honors  claim; 
But  who  can  tell  the  dew  drops  of  the  morn 
Or  count  the  rays  that  in  the  diamond  burn?  710 


BOOK  V  I  OLUMBIAD  191 

— Grieve  not,  my  valiant  friends;  the  faithful  song 
Shall  soon  redress  the  momentary  wrong; 
Yourown  bright  swords  have  cleaved  your  course  to  fame, 
And  all  her  hundred  tongues  recognise  every  claim. 
Now  the  broad  field  as  untaught  warriors  shade, 
The  sun's  glad  beam  their  shining  arms  display'd; 
High  waved  great  Washington  his  glittering  steel, 
Bade  the  long  train  in  circling  order  wheel; 
And,  while  the  banner'd  youths  around  him  prest, 
With  voice  revered  he  thus  the  ranks  addrest:  720 

Ye  generous  bands,  behold  the  t:isk  to  save, 
Or  yield  whole  nations  to  an  instant  grave. 
See  hosted  myriads  crowding  to  your  shore, 
Hear  from  all  ports  their  vollied  thunders  roar; 
From  Boston  heights  their  bloody  standards  play, 
O'er  long  Champlain  they  lead  their  northern  way, 
Virginian  banks  behold  their  streamers  glide, 
And  hostile  navies  load  each  southern  tide. 
Beneath  their  steps  your  towns  in  ashes  lie, 
Your  inland  empires  feast  their  greedy  eye;  730 

Soon  shall  your  fields  to  lordly  parks  be  turn'd, 
Your  cnildren  butcher'd  and  your  villas  burn'd; 
Wnile  following  millions,  thro  the  reign  of  time, 
Who  claim  their  birth  in  this  indulgent  clime, 


192  COLUMBIAN.  BOOKV. 

Bend  the  weak  knee,  to  servile  toils  consign'd, 
And  sloth  and  slavery  still  degrade  mankind. 
Rise  then  to  war,  to  timely  vengeance  rise, 
Ere  the  gray  sire,  the  hapless  infant  dies; 
Look  thro  the  world,  see  endless  years  descend, 
What  realms,  what  ages  on  your  arms  depend!  74© 

Reverse  the  fate,  avenge  the  insulted  sky, 
Move  to  the  work;  we  conquer  or  we  die. 

So  spoke  Columbia's  chief;  his  guiding  hand 
Points  out  their  march  to  every  ardent  band, 
Assigns  to  each  brave  leader,  as  they  claim, 
His  test  of  valor  and  his  task  of  fame. 
With  his  young  host  Montgomery  first  moves  forth 
To  crush^the  vast  invasion  of  the  north; 
O'er  streams  and  lakes  their  flags  far  onward  play, 
Navies  and  forts  surrendering  mark  their  way;  7 

Rocks,  fens  and  deserts  thwart  the  paths  they  go, 
And  hills  before  them  lose  their  crags  in  snow. 
Loud  Laurence,  clogg'd  with  ice,  indignant  feels 
Their  sleet-clad  oars,  choked  helms  and  crusted  keels; 
They  buffet  long  his  tides;  when  rise  in  sight 
Quebec's  dread  walls  and  Wolfe's  unclouded  height. 

Already  there  a  few  brave  patriots  stood, 
Worn  down  with  toil,  by  famine  half  subdued; 


BOOK  V.  COLUMBIA!). 

Untrencht  before  the  town,  they  dare  oppose 

Their  fielded  cohorts  to  the  forted  foes. 

Ah  gallant  troop!  deprived  of  half  the  praise 

That  deeds  like  yours  in  ofher  times  repays, 

Since  your  prime  chief  (the  favorite  erst  of  fame : 

Hath  sunk  so  deep  his  hateful,  hideous  name, 

That  every  honest  Muse  with  horror  flings 

The  name  unsounded  from  her  sacred  strings; 

Else  what  high  tones  of  rapture  must  have  told 

The  first  great  action  36  of  a  chief  so  bold! 

Twas  his,  twas  yours,  to  brave  unusual  storms, 

To  tame  rude  nature  in  her  drearest  forms;  770 

Foodless  and  guideless,  thro  that  waste  of  earth, 

You  march t  long  months;  ?*nd,  sore  reduced  by  dearth, 

Reacht  the  proud  capital,  too  feeble  far 

To  tempt  unaided  such  a  task  of  war; 

Till  now  Montgomery's  host  with  hopes  elate 

Joins  your  scant  powers,  to  try  the  test  of  fate. 

With  skilful  glance  he  views  the  fortress  round.. 
Bristled  with  pikes,  with  dark  artillery  crown'd; 
Resolves  with  naked  steel  to  scale  the  towers 
And  snatch  a  realm  from  Britain's  hostile  powers.    780 
Nov.  drea?  December's  boreal  blasts  arise, 
A  roaring  hailstorm,  sweeps  the  shuddering  skies. 

Vol.  I.  R 


194  COLUMBIAD.  BOOKV. 

Night  with  condensing  horror  mantles  all 
And  trembling  watch-lights  glimmer  from  the  wall. 
From  bombs  o'erarching,  fusing,  bursting  high, 
The  glare  scarce  wanders  thro  the  loaded  sky; 
And  in  the  louder  shock  of  meteors  drown'd, 
The  accustom'd  ear  in  vain  expects  the  sound. 

He  points  the  assault;  and  thro  the  howling  ail 
O'er  rocky  ramparts  leads  audacious  war.  790 

Swift  rise  the  rapid  files;  the  walls  are  red 
With  flashing  flames  that  show  the  piles  of  de. 
Till  back  recoiling  from  the  ranks  of  slain, 
They  leave  their  leader  with  a  feeble  train, 
Be  irt  with  foes  within  the  sounding  wall 
thick  beneath  his  single  falchion  fall. 
But  short  the  conflict;  others  hemm'd  him  roi 
And  brave  Montgomery  prest  the  gory  ground. 
A  second  Wolfe  Columbus  here  beheld, 
In  youthful  charms,  a  soul  undaunted  yield; 
Forlorn,  <  I -'d,  his  hardy  host  remains 

Stretcht  I  e  or  led  in  captive  chains. 

heesmaii  share  their  general's  doom, 
Meigs,  Morgan,  Dearboi  ing  deeds  to  come, 

Resign  impatient  prisoners;  soon  to  wield 
Their  happier  swords  in  many  a  broader  field. 


KOOix  OOLUMBIAD.  195 

Triumphant  to  Newyork's  ill  fortcd  post 
Britannia  turns  her  vast  amphibious  host 
That  seas  and  storms  obedient  to  her  hand 
Heave  and  discharge  on  every  distant  land;  810 

Fleets,  floating  batteries  shake  Manhattan's  shore, 
And  Hellgate  rocks  reverberate  the  roar. 
Swift  o'er  the  shuddering  isles  that  line  the  bay 
The  red  flags  wave  and  battering  engines  play; 
Howe  leads  aland  the  interminable  train, 
While  his  bold  brother  still  bestorms  the  main, 
Great  Albion's  double  pride;  both  famed  afar 
On  each  vext  element,  each  world  of  war; 
Where  British  rapine  follows  peaceful  toil 
And  murders  nations,  but  to  seize  their  spoil.  820 

Wide  sweep  the  veteran  myriads  o'er  the  strand, 
Outnumbering  thrice  the  raw  lolonial  band; 
Flatbush  and  Harlem  sink  beneath  their  fires, 
Brave  Stirling  yields  and  Sullivan  retires. 
In  vain  sage  Washington  from  hill  to  hill 
Plays  round  his  foes  with  more  than  Fabian  skill, 
Retreats,  advances,  lures  them  to  his  snare, 
To  balance  numbers  by  the  shifts  of  war. 


i 


196  COLUMBIAD.  BOOKV. 

For  not  their  swords  alone,  but  fell  disease 

Thins  his  chill  camp  and  chokes  the  sedgy  seas.        830 

The  baleful  malady  from  Sirius  sent 

Floats  in  each  breeze,  impesting  every  tent, 

Strikes  the  young  soldier  with  the  morning  ray 

And  lays  him  lifeless  ere  the  close  of  day, 

Far  from  his  father's  house,  his  mother's  care 

And  all  the  charities  that  nursed  him  there. 

Dampt  is  the  native  rage  that  first  impell'd 
The  insulted  colons  to  the  battling  field; 
When  first  their  high-soul'd  sentiment  of  right 
And  full-vein'd  vigor  nerved  their  arm  to  fight.  84© 

For  stript  of  health,  benumb'd  thy  vital  flood, 
Thy  muscles  laxt  and  decomposed  thy  blood, 
What  is  thy  courage,  man?  a  foodless  flame* 
A  light  unseen,  a  soul  Without  a  frame. 

Each  day  the  decimated  ranks  forego 
Their  dying  comrades  to  repulse  the  foe, 
And  each  damp  night  along  the  slippery  trench 
Breathe  at  their  post  the  suffocating  stench; 
They  sink  by  hundreds  on  the  vapory  soil, 
Till  a  new  fight  relieves  their  deadlier  toil  850 


BOOK  V.  COLUMBIA!).  197 

At  last  from  fruitless  combat,  sore  defeat, 

To  Croton  hills  they  lead  a  long  retreat; 

Pale,  curbed,  exanimate,  in  dull  despair. 

Train  the  scant  relics  of  the  twofold  war: 

The  sword,  the  pestilence  press  hard  behind; 

The  body  both  assail,  and  one  beats  down  the  mine 


NOTES 


TO 


VOLUME  I. 


I  HO  it  would  be  more  convenient  to  the  reader  to 
find  some  of  these  notes,  especially  the  shorter  ones, 
at  the  bottom  of  the  pages  to  which  they  refer,  yet 
most  of  them  are  of  such  a  length  as  would  render 
that  mode  of  placing  them  disadvantageous  to  the 
symmetry  of  the  pages  and  the  general  appearance  of 
the  work.  It  seemed  necessary  that  these  should  be 
collected  at  the  end  of  the  volume;  and  it  was  thought 
proper  that  the  others  should  not  be  separated  from 
them. 

The  notes  will  probably  be  found  too  voluminous 
for  the  taste  of  some  readers;  but  others  would  doubt- 
less be  better  pleased  to  see  them  still  augmented,  as 
several  of  the  philosophical  subjects  and  historic.' I  al- 
lusions are  left  unexplained.  Were  I  to  offer  apologies 
in  this  case,  I  should  hardly  know  on* which  side  to 
begin.  I  will  therefore  only  say  that  in  this  append- 
age, as  in  the  body  of  the  work,  I  have  aimed,  as  well 
as  I  was  able,  at  blending  in  due  proportions  the  use- 
ful with  the  agreeable. 


1'HK 


COLUMBIA!). 

NOTES. 


No.  1.  < 

Dne  gentle  guardian  once  could  shield  the  brave; 
But  now  that  guardian  slumbers  in  the  grave. 

Book  I.  Line  105. 

1  HE  death  of  queen  Isabella,  which  happened 
before  the  last  return  of  Columbus  from  America,  was 
a  subject  of  great  sorrow  to  him.  In  her  he  lost  his 
only  powerful  friend  in  Spain,  on  whose  influence  he 
was  accustomed  to  rely  in  counteracting  the  perpetual 
intrigues  of  a  host  of  enemies,  whose  rank  and  fortune 
gave  them  a  high  standing  at  the  court  of  Valladolid. 
Their  situation  and  connexions  must  have  command- 
ed a  weight  of  authority  not  easily  resisted  by  an  in- 
dividual foreigner  however  illustrious  from  his  merit. 
It  was  a  grievous  reflection  for  Columbus  that  his 
services,  tho  great  in  themselves  and  unequalled  in 
their  consequences  to  the  world,  had  been  performed 
in  an  age  and  for  a  nation  which  knew  not  their  value. 


202  COLUMBIAD.  NOTES. 

as  well  as  for  an  ungrateful  monarch  who  chose  to 
disregard  them. 

No.  2. 
As  dived  to  silence  savage  bands  gave  {dace 
\l  with)  joy  the  sun-descended  race. 

Book  I.  Line  243. 
The  original  inhabitants  of  Hispaniola  were  wor- 
shippers of  the  sun.  The  Europeans,  when  they  first 
landed  there,  were  supposed  by  them  to  be  gods,  and 
consequently  descended  from  the  sun.  See  the  subject 
of  solar  worship  treated  more  at  large  in  a  subse- 
quent note. 

No.  3. 
High  lanterned  in  his  heaven  the  cloudless  White 
Heaves  the  glad  sailor  an  eternal  light; 

Book  I.  Line  333. 

The  White  Mountain  of  Newhampshire,  tho 
eighty  miles  from  the  sea,  is  the  first  land  to  be  dis- 
covered in  approaching  that  part  of  the  coast  of  North 
America.  It  serves  as  a  landmark  for  a  considerable 
length  of  coast,  of  difficult  navigation. 

No.  4. 
Whirl9 d  from  the  monstrous  Andes9  bursting  sides  ^ 
Maragnon  leads  his  congregating  tides; 

Book  I.  Line  365. 

This  river,  from  different  circumstances,  has  ob- 
tained several   different  names.  It   has  been   called 


NOTES.  COLUMBIA!).  203 

Amazon,  from  an  idea  that  some  part  of  the  neighbor- 
ing country  was  inhabited  by  a  race  of  warlike  women, 
resembling  what  Herodotus  relates  of  the  Amazons  of 
Scytbia.  It  has  been  called  Orellana,  from  its  having 
been  discovered  by  a  Spanish  officer  of  that  name, 
who,  on  a  certain  expedition,  deserted  from  the  younger 
Pizarro  on  one  of  the  sources  of  this  river  and  navi- 
gated it  from  thence  to  the  ocean.  Maragnon  is  the 
original  name  given  it  by  the  natives,  which  name  I 
choose  to  follow. 

If  we  estimate  its  magnitude  by  the  length  of  its 
course  and  the  quantity  of  water  it  throws  into  the  sea, 
it  is  much  the  greatest  river  that  has  hitherto  come  to  ^ 
our  knowledge.  Its  navigation  is  said  by  Condamine 
and  others  to  be  uninterrupted  for  four  thousand  miles 
from  the  sea.  Its  breadth  within  the  banks  is  sixty 
geographical  miles;  it  receives  in  its  course  a  variety 
of  great  rivers,  besides  those  described  in  the  text. 
Many  of  these  descend  from  elevated  countries  and 
mountains  covered  with  snow,  the  melting  of  which 
annually  swells  the  Maragnon  above  its  banks;  when  it 
overflows  and  fertilizes  a  vast  extent  of  territory. 

No.  5.' 
He  saw  Xaraya's  diamond  banks  unfold 
And  Paraguay's  deep,  channel  fiaved  with  gold. 

Book  I.  Line  435. 

Some  of  the  richest  diamond  mines  are  found  on 
the  banks  of  the  lake  Xaraya.  The  river  Paraguay  is 
remarkable  for  the  quantities  of  gold  dust  found  in  ita 


204  COLUMBIA!).  NO  I 

channel.  The  Rio  de  la  Plata,  properly  so  called,  has 
its  source  in  the  mountains  of  Potosi;  and  it  was  pro- 
bably from  this  circumstance  that  it  received  its  name, 
which  signifies  River  of  Silver.  This  river,  after  having 
joined  the  Paraguay,  which  is  larger  than  itself,  re- 
tains its  own  name  till  it  reaches  the  sea.  Near  the 
mouth,  it  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  wide;  but  in 
other  respects  it  is  far  inferior  to  the  Maragnon. 

No.  6. 
Sog?igs  the  distant  swell  teas  seen  to  roll, 
His  ancient  wishes  reabsorbed  his  sail; 

Book  I.  Line  449. 
The  great  object  of  Columbus,  in  most  of  his 
voyages,  was  to  discover  a  western  passage  to  India. 
He  navigated  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  with  particular  at- 
tention to  this  object,  and  was  much  disappointed  in 
not  finding  a  pass  into  the  South  Sea.  The  view  he  is 
here  supposed  to  have  of  that  ocean  would  therefore 
naturally  recal  his  former  desire  of  sailing  to  India. 

No.  r. 

This  idle  frith  must  ojien  soon  to  fame, 
Here  a  lost  Lusitanian  fix  hh  name, 

k  I.  Line  U 

The  straits  of  Magellan,  so   called  from  having 
been  discovered  by  a  Portuguese  navigator  of  tha 
name,  who  first  attempted  to  sail  round  the  world  and 
lost  his  life  in  Uie  attempt. 


M>]  OOL 

No.  8. 
Say,  Palfrey  brave  good  man,  was  tlda  iinj  a 
Dwells  here  the  secret  of  thy  midsea  tomb? 

Book  I.  Line  (  \ 

Colonel  Palfrey  of  Boston  was  an  officer  of  distinc- 
tion in  the  American  army  during  the  war  of  inde- 
pendence. Soon  after  the  war  he  proposed  to  visit 
F.uropc  and  embarked  for  England;  but  never  more 
was  heard  of.  The  ship  probably  perished  in  the  ice. 
His  daughter,  here  alluded  to,  is  now  the  wife  of 
Wiljiam  Lee,  American  consul  at  Bordeaux. 

No.  9. 

The  beasts  all  whitening  roam  the  lifeless  plain, 
And  caves  infrequent  scoo/i  the  couch  for  man. 

Book  I.  Line  75S. 

The  color  of  animals  is  acquired  partly  from  the 
food  they  eat  thro  successive  generations  and  partly 
from  the  objects  with  which  they  are  usually  sur- 
rounded. Dr.  Darwin  has  a  curious  note  on  this  sub- 
ject, in  which  he  remarks  on  the  advantages  that 
insects  and  other  small  animals  derive  from  their 
color,  as  a  means  of  rendering  them  invisible  to  their 
more  powerful  enemies,  who  thus  find  it  difficult  to 
distinguish  them  from  other  objects  where  they  re- 
side. Some  animals  which  inhabit  cold  countries  turn^ 
white  in  winter  when  the  earth  is  covered  with  snow, 
such  as  the  snowbird  of  the  Alps.  Others  in  snowy  re- 
gions are  habitually  white,  such  as  the  white  bear  of 
Russia. 

Vol.  I. 


NOTES 

No.  10. 
A  different  cast  the  glowing  zg?ic  demands 
In  Paria's  bioo?ns<from  Tombut's.  burning  sands. 

Book  I.  Line  97. 

Paria  is  a  fertile  country  near  the  river  Orinoco; 
the  only  part  of  the  continent  of  America  that  Colum- 
bus had  seen.  Tombut  in  the  same  latitude  is  the 
most  steril  part  of  Africa.  America  embraces  a 
greater  compass  of  latitude  by  many  degrees  than  the 
other  continent;  and  yet  its  inhabitants  present  a  much 
less  variety  in  their  physical  and  moral  character. 
When  shall  we  be  able  to  account  for  this  fact? 

Xo.  11. 
when  the  hordes  to  happy  nations  rise 
'  earth  by  culture  warns  the  genial  skies, 

Book  II.  Line  119. 
Without  entering  into  any  discussion  on  the  the- 
ory of  heat  and  cold  (a  point  not  yet  settled  in  our 
academies)  I  would  just  observe,  in  vindication  of  the 
expression  in  the  text,  that  some  solid  matter,  such 
for  instance  as  the  surface  of  the  earth,  seems  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  the  production  of  heat.  At  least  it 
must  be  a  matter  more  compact  than  that  of  the  sun's 
rays;  and  perhaps  its  power  of  producing  heat  is  in 
proportion  to  its  solidity. 

The  warmth  communicated  to  the  atmosphere  is 
doubtless  produced  by  the  combined  causes  of  the 
earth  and  the  sun ;  but  the  agency  of  the  former  is 
probably  more  potrerfu]  in  this  operation  than  that  of  the 


^s  COLUMB] 

latter,  and  its  presence  more  indispensable.  For  mas 
of  matter  will  produce  heat  by  friction,   without  the 
aid  of  the  sun;  but  no  experiment  has  yet  proved  thai 
the  rays  of  the   sun   are  capable  of  producing   hi 
without  the  aid  of  other  and  more  solid  matter.    Tbe 
air  is  temperate  in  those  cavities  of  the  earth  wb 
the  sun  is  the  most  effectually  excluded ;  whereas  the 
coldest  regions  yet  known  to  us  are  the  tops  of  the 
Andes,  where  the   sun's   rays  have  the   most  direc< 
operation,  being  the  most  vertical  and  the  least  ob- 
structed by  vapors.    Those  regions  are   dcpiived  oi' 
heat  by  being  so  far  removed  from  the  broad  surface 
of  the  earth ;  a  body  that  appears  requisite  to  warm 
the  surrounding  atmosphere  by  its  cooperation  with 
the  action  of  the  sun. 

From  these  principles  we  may  conclude  that  ciu 
tivation,  in  a  woody  country,  tends  to  warm  the  at- 
mosphere and  meliorate  a  cold  climate;  as  by  remov- 
ing the  forests  and  marshes  it  opens  the  earth  to  th< 
sun  and  allows  them  to  act  in  conjunction  upon  the  air. 

According  to  the  descriptions  given  of  the  middle 
parts  of  Europe  by  Cesar  and  Tacitus,  it  appears  thai 
those  countries  were  much  colder  in  their  days  than 
they  are  at  present ;  cultivation  seems  to  have  soften- 
ed that  climate  to  a  great  degree.    The  same  efTY 
begins  to  be  perceived  in  North  America.  Possibly  i 
may  in  time  become  as  apparent  as  the  present  diffe^P 
in  the  temperature  of  the  two  continents, 


col.?  mg. 

No.  12. 
A  ruddier  hue  and  dee/ier  shade  shall  \ 
And  stalk  in  statelier  figures  on  the  plain. 

Book  II.  Line  I 
The  complexion  of  the  inhabitants  of  North  Ame- 
rica, who  are  descended  from  the  English  and  Dutchs 
is  evidently  darker  and  their  stature  taller  than  those 
of  the  English  and  Dutch  in  Europe. 

No. 
Like  Memphian  hieroglyphs,  to  st 
Of  memory  frail  in  momentary  man. 

Book  II.  Line  fl 

We  may  reckon  three  stages  of  improvement  in 
the  graphic  art  or  the  art  of  communicating  our 
thoughts  to  absent  persons  and  to  posterity  by  visible 
signs.  First,  the  invention  of  painting  ideas  or  repre^  - 
renting  actions,  dates  and  other  circumstances  of  his- 
torical fact,  by  the  images  of  material  things,  drawn 
usually  on  a  flat  surface  or  sometimes  carved  or 
molded  in  a  more  solid  form.  This  was  the  state  at 
which  the  art  had  arrived  in  Egypt  before  the  intro- 
duction of  letters  and  in  Mexico  before  the  arrival  of 
;he  Spaniards.  The  Greeks  in  Egypt  called  it  hiero- 
:iic. 

Second,  The  invention  of  painting  soiznds,  which 

*we  do  by  the  use  of  letters  or  the  alphabet  and  which 

we  call  writing.    This  was  a  vast  improvement ;  as  it 

simplified  in  a  wonderful  degree  the  communication 

of  thought.  For  ideas  arc  infinite  in  number  and  vari- 


M)\:  l  DLUMBIAIX 

ety  ;  while  the  simple  sounds  we  use  to  convey  them 
to  the  car  are  few,  distinct  and  easy  to  be  understood. 
It  would  indeed  be  impossible  to  express  all  our  ideas 
by  distinct  and  visible  images.  And  even  if  the  writer 
were  able  to  do  this,  not  many  readers  could  be  made 
to  understand  him  ;  since  it  would  be  necessary  that 
every  new  idea  should  have  a  new  image  invented  and 
agreed  upon  between  the  writer  and  the  reader,  before 
it  could  be  used.  Which  preliminary  could  not  be  set- 
tled without  the  writer  should  see  and  converse  with 
the  reader.  And  he  might  as  well  in  this  case  convey 
his  ideas  by  oral  speech;  so  that  his  writing  could  be 
of  little  use  beyond  a  certain  routine  of  established 
signs. 

The  number  of  simple  sounds  in  human  language 
used  in  discourse  is  not  above  eighteen  or  twenty;  and 
these  are  so  varied  in  the  succession  inwdiichthey  are 
uttered,  as  to  express  an  inconceivable  and  endless  va- 
riety of  thought  and  sentiment.  Then,  by  the  help  of 
an  alphabet  of  about  twenty  six  letters  or  visible  signs, 
these  sounds  are  translated  from  the  ear  to  the  eye  ; 
and  we  are  able,  by  thus  paiating  the  sound,  to  arrest 
its  fleeting  nature,  render  it  permanent  and  talk  with 
distant  nations  and  future  ages,  without  any  previous 
convention  whatever,  even  supposing  them  to  be  igno- 

{  of  the  language  in  which  we  write.    This  is  the 
present  state  of  the  art,  as  commonly  practised  in  all© 
the  countries  where  an  alphabet  is  used.    It  is  called 
the  art  of  writing;  and  to  understand  it  is  called  read- 

S  2 


210 


COLUMBIAN 


Third,  Another  invention,  which  is  stili  in  its  in- 
fancy, is  the  art  of  painting  phrases,  or  sentences ; 
commonly  called  shorthand  writing.  This  is  yet  but 
little  used  and  only  by  a  few  dexterous  persons  who 
make  it  a  particular  study.  Probably  the  true  princi- 
ples on  which  it  ought  to  be  founded  are  yet  to  be  dis- 
covered. But  it  may  be  presumed,  that  in  this  part  of 
the  graphic  art  there  remains  to  the  ingenuity  of  fu- 
ture generations  a  course  of  improvements  totally  in- 
conceivable to  the  present;  by  which  the  whole  train 
of  impressions  now  made  upon  the  mind  by  reading  a 
long  and  well  written  treatise  may  be  conveyed  by  a 
few  strokes  of  the  pen  and  be  received  at  a  glance  of 
the  eye.  This  desideratum  would  be  an  abridgment 
of  labour  in  our  mental  acquisitions,  of  which  we  can- 
not determine  the  consequences.  It  might  make,  in 
the  progress  of  human  knowledge,  an  epoch  as 
markable  as  that  which  was  made  by  the  invention  of 
alphabetical  writing  and  produce  as  great  a  change  in 
the  mode  of  transmitting  the  history  of  events. 

One  consequence  of  the  invention  of  alphabetical 
writing  seems  to  have  been  to  throw  into  oblivion  all 
previous  historical  facts;  and  it  has  thus  left  an  im- 
mense void,  which  the  imagination  knows  not  how  to 
fill,  in  contemplating  the  progress  of  our  race.  How- 
many  important  discoveries,  which  still  remain  to  our 
"use,  must  have  taken  their  origin  in  that  space  of  time 
which  is  thus  left  avoid  to  us  !  A  vast  succession  of  ages 
and  ages  of  improvement  must  have  preceded  (for  ex- 
ample Vwhe  invention  of  the  \vheel.The  wheelmust  havr 


COLtTMBIAD  21 J 

been  in  common  use,  we  know  not  how  long,  before  al- 
phabetical writing;  because  we  find  its  image  employed 
in  painting  ideas,  during  the  first  stage  of  the  graphic 
an  above  described.  The  wheel  was  likewise  in  use 
before  the  mysteries  of  Ceres  or  those  of  Isis  were  es- 
tablished; as  is  evident  from  its  being  imagined  as  an 
instrument  of  punishment  in  hell,  in  the  case  of  Ixion, 
as  represented  in  those  mysteries.  The  taming  of  the 
ox  and  the  horse,  the  use  of  the  sickle  and  the  bow 
and  arrow,  a  considerable  knowledge  of  astronomy 
and  its  application  to  the  purposes  of  agriculture  and 
navigation,  with  many  other  circumstances  which 
show  a  prodigious  improvement,  must  evidently  have 
preceded  the  date  of  the  zodiac  ;  a  date  fixed  by  Du- 
puis,  with  a  great  degree  of  probability,  at  about  se- 
venteen thousand  years  from  our  time.  This  epoch 
would  doubtless  carry  us  back  many  thousand  years 
beyond  that  of  the  alphabet;  the  invention  of  which  was 
sufficient  of  itself  to  obliterate  the  details  of  previous 
history,  as  the  event  has  proved. 

How  far  the  loss  of  these  historical  details  is  to  be 
regretted,  as  an  impediment  to  our  progress  in  useful 
knowledge,  I  will  not  decide  ;  but  in  one  view,  which 
I  am  going  to  state,  it  may  be  justly  considered  as  a 
misfortune. 

The  art  of  painting  ideas,  being  arrested  in  the  state 
in  which  the  use  of  the  alphabet  found  it,  went  into 
general  disuse  for  common  purposes ;  and  the  works 
then  extant,  as  well  as  the  knowledge  of  writing  in  that 
mode,  being  no  longer  intelligible  to  the  people,  be- 
came objects  of  deep  and  laborious  study  and  known  only 


212  COLUMBIAD.  M>TES. 

to  the  learned;  that  is,  to  the  men  of  leisure  and  contem- 
plation. These  men  consequently  ran  it  into  mystery  j 
making  it  a  holy  object,  above  the  reach  of  vulgar  in- 
quiry. On  this  ground  they  established,  in  the  course 
of  ages,  a  profitable  function  or  profession,  in  the  prac- 
tice of  which  a  certain  portion  of  men  of  the  brightest 
talents  could  make  a  reputable  living;  taking  care  not  to 
initiate  more  than  a  limited  number  of  professors;  no 
more  than  the  people  could  maintain  as  priests.  This 
mode  of  writing  then  assumed  the  name  of  hierogly- 
phic, or  sacred  painting^  to  distinguish  it  from  that 
which  had  now  become  the  vulgar  mode  of  writing, 
by  the  use  of  the  alphabet.  This  is  perhaps  the  source 
of  that  ancient,  vast  and  a  variegated  system  of  false 
religion,  with  all  its  host  of  errors  and  miseries,  which 
has  so  long  and  so  grievously  weighed  upon  the  char- 
acter of  human  nature. 

In  noticing  the  distinction  of  the  three  stages  in 
the  graphic  art  above  described,  I  have  not  mentioned 
the  wonderful  powers  we  derive  from  it  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  mathematics  and  the  language  of  music. 
In  each  of  these,  tho  its  effects  are  already  astonish- 
ing, there  is  no  doubt  but  great  improvements  are 
stiil  to  be  made.  Our  present  mode  of  writing  in  these, 
as  in  literatu.e,  belongs  to  the  second  or  alphabetical 
stage  of  the  graphic  art*  The  ten  ciphers  and  the  other 
signs  used  in  ^he  mathematical  sciences  form  the  alpha- 
bet in  which  the  language  of  those  sciences  is  written. 
The  few  musical  notes  and  the  other  signs  which  ac- 
company them  furnish  an  alphabet  for  writing  the 
language  of  music. 


VO'i  I  HAD  &13 

The  mode  of  Writing  in  China  is  still  different 
from  any  of  those  I  have  mentioned.  The  Chinese 
neither  paint  ideas  nor  sounds;  but  they  make  a  char- 
acter for  every  word;  which  character  must  vary  ac- 
cording to  the  different  inflections  and  uses  of  that 
word.  The  characters  must  therefore  be  insupporta- 
bly  numerous  and  be  still  increasing  as  the  language 
is  enriched  with  new  words  by  the  augmentation  and 
correction  of  ideas. 

The  English  language  is  supposed  to  contain 
about  twelve  thousand  distinct  words  and  the  Italian 
about  seventeen  thousand,  in  the  present  state  of  our 
sciences.  I  know  not  how  many  the  Chinese  may 
contain;  but  if  we  were  to  write  cur  languages  in  the 
Chinese  method,  it  would  be  the  business  of  a  whole 
life  for  a  man  to  learn  his  mother  tongue,  so  as  to 
read  and  write  it  for  his  ordinary  purposes. 

As  the  ChinesAVnave  not  adopted  an  alphabet,  but 
have  adhered  to  an  invariable  state  of  the  graphic  art, 
which  is  probably  more  ancient  by  several  thousand 
years  than  our  present  method,  may  we  not  venture 
to  conjecture  that  the  traces  of  their  very  ancient 
history  have  been,  for  that  reason,  better  preserved? 
and  that  their  pretensions  to  a  very  high  antiquity, 
which  we  have  been  used  to  think  extravagant  and 
ridiculous,  are  really  not  without  foundation?  If  so,  we 
might  then  allow  a  little  more  latitude  to  ourselves 
and  conclude  that  we  are  in  fact  as  old  as  they  :  nd 
might  have  been  as  sensible  of  it,  if  we  had  adhered 
to  our  ancient  method  of  writing;  and  not  changed  it 


214  COLUMBIA*), 

for  a  new  one  which,  while  it  has  facilitated  the  pro- 
gress of  our  science,  has  humbled  our  pride  of  anti- 
quity, by  obliterating  the  dates  of  those  labors  and 
improvements  of  our  early  progenitors,  to  which  we 
are  indebted  for  more  of  the  rudiments  of  our  sciences 
and  our  arts  than  we  usually  imagine. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted,  that  the  Spanish  de- 
vastation in  Mexico  and  Peru  was  so  universal  as  to 
leave  us  but  few  monuments  of  the  history  of  the 
human  mind  in  those  countries,  which  presented  a 
state  of  manners  so  remarkably  different  from 
ean  be  found  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  The  pic- 
torial writing  of  the  Mexicans,  tho  sometimes 
called  hieroglyphic,  does  not  appear  to  merit  that 
name,  as  it  was  not  exclusively  appropriated  by  the 
priests  to  sacred  purposes.  Indeed  it  could  not  be  so 
appropriated  till  a  more  convenient  method  could  be 
discovered  and  adopted  for  comi&on  purposes.  For  a 
thing  cannot  become  sacred,  in  this  sense  of  the  word., 
.until  it  ceases  to  be  common. 

No.  14. 
JVb  Bovadilla  seize  the  tempting  tfi 
A  a  dark  Ovando,  no  religious  Boyle, 

Book  II.  Line 

Bovadilla  and  Ovando  are  mentioned  in  the  Intro- 
duction  as  the  enemies  and  successors  of  Columbus 
in  the  government  of  Hispaniola.  They  began  that 
system  of  cruelty  towards  the  natives,  which  in  a  few 
years  almost  depopulated  that  island,   and  was 


NO  It  I  MBlAB.  216 

wards  pursued  by  Cortcz,   Pizarro  and  others,  in  all 
the  first  settlements  in  Spanish  America. 

Boyle    was   a   fanatical    priest    who   accompanied 
Ovando   and,   under    pretence    of    christianizing   the 
native-   by  the  sword,  gave  the  sanction  of  the  church 
to  the  most  shocking  and  extensive  scenes  of  slaughter- 
No.  15. 
He  gains  the  shore.  Behold  his  fortress  rise^ 
His  fleet  high  flaming  suffocates  the  skies. 

Book  II.  line  329. 

The  conduct  of  Cortez,  when  he  first  landed  on 
the  coast  of  Mexico,  was  as  remarkable  for  that  hardy 
sj  irit  of  adventure,  to  which  success  gives  the  name 
of  poiicy,  as  his  subsequent  operations  were  for 
cruelty  and  perfidy.  As  soon  as  his  army  was  on  shore, 
he  dismantled  his  fleet  of  such  articles  as  would  be 
useful  in  building  a  new  one;  he  then  set  fire  to  his 
ships  and  burnt  them  in  presence  of  his  men;  that 
they  might  fight  their  battles  with  more  desperate 
courage,  knowing  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  save 
themselves  from  a  victorious  enemy  by  flight.  He 
constructed  a  fort,  in  which  the  iron  and  the  rigging 
were  preserved. 

No.  16. 
With  cheerful  rites  their  pure  (lev, 
To  the  bright  orb  that  gives  the  changing  day. 

Book  II.  Line 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  countries  where 
Uie  worship  of  the  sun  has  made  the  greatest  figure 


216  COLVMBI.YD  ,  1'ES. 

are  Egypt  and  Peru;  the  two  regions  of  the  earth  the 
most  habitually  deprived  of  rain  and  probably  of 
clouds,  which  in  other  countries  so  frequently  ob- 
struct his  rays  and  seem  to  dispute  his  influence.  Tho 
in  the  rude  ages  of  society  it  is  certainly  natural  in 
all  countries  to  pay  adoration  to  the  sun,  as  one  of  the 
visible  agents  of  those  changes  in  tlie  atmosphere 
which  most  affect  the  people's  happiness,  yet  it  is  rea- 
sonable to  suppose  that  this  adoration  would  be  more 
unmixed  and  consequently  more  durable,  in  climates 
where  the  agency  of  the  sun  appears  unrivalled  und 
supreme. 

On  the  supposition  that  Greece  and  Western  Asia, 
regions  whose  early  traditions  are  best  known  to  us, 
derived  their  first  theological  ideas  from  Egypt,  it  is 
curious  to  observe  how  the  pure  heliosebia  of  Egypt 
degenerated  in  those  climates  in  proportion  as  other 
visible  agents  seemed  to  exert  their  influence  in 
human  affairs.  Greece  is  a  mountainous  country,  sub- 
ject to  a  great  deal  of  lightning  and  other  meteors, 
whose  effects  are  tremendous  and  make  stronger  im- 
pressions on  rude  savages  than  the  gentle  energies  of 
the  sun. 

The  Greeks  therefore,  having  forgotten  the  source 
of  their  religious  system,  ceased  to  consider  the  sun 
as  their  supreme  god;  his  agency  being  in  their  opin- 
ion subject  to  a  more  potent  divinity,  the  Power  of  the 
air  or  Jupiter,  whom  they  styled  the  Thunderer.  So 
that  Apollo  the  god  of  light,  became  in  their  mytho- 
ct  and  offspring  of  the  supreme  god 


NOT  COLUMBIA!).  21 7 

of  the  atmosphere.  This  religion  became  extremely 
confused  and  complicated  with  new  fables,  according 
to  the  temperature  and  other  accidents  of  the  different 
climates  thro  which  it  passed.  The  god  of  thunder 
obtained  the  supreme  veneration  generally  in  Europe; 
known  in  the  south  by  the  name  of  Jupiter  or  Zeus 
and  in  the  north  by  that  of  Thpr. 

Europe  in  general  has  an  uneven  surface  and  a 
vapory  sky,  liable  to  great  concussions  in  the  lower 
regions «f  the  atmosphere  which  border  the  habita- 
tion of  man.  There  is  no  wonder  tha.  in  such  a  region 
the  god  of  the  air  should  appear  more  powerful  than 
the  god  of  light.  This  disposition  of  the  elements  has 
given  a  gloomy  cast  to  the  mind  and  in  the  north 
more  than  in  the  south.  The  Thor  of  the  Celtic 
nations  was  more  tremendous,  more  feared  and  less 
beloved,  than  the  Jupiter  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans; 
he   was  worshipped   accordingly    with    more    bloody 

ifices.  But  in  all  Europe,  western  Asia  and  the 
northwestern  coast  of  Africa,  where  the  earth  is  un- 
even and  the  climate  variable,  their  religion  was  mere 
gloomy  and  their  gods  more  ferocious  than  among 
the  ancient  Egyptians. 

A  like  difference  is  observed  in  the  religions  of 
the  two  countries  in  America  where  civilization  was 
most  advanced  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards.  Peru 
enjoyed  a  climate  of  great  serenity  and  regularity.  Of 
all  the  sensible  agents  that  operated  on  the  earth  and 
air,   the  sun  was   apparently  the  most  uniform  and 

Vol.  I.     '  t' 


COLUMBIAN  NOTES. 

energetic.  The  worship  of  the  sun  was  therefore  the 
most  predominant  and  durable;  and  it  inspired  a  mild- 
ness of  manners  analogous  to  his  mild  and  beneficent 
influence.  In  Mexico  and  other  uneven  countries 
where  storms  and  earthquakes  were  frequent,  the  sun, 
altho  he  was  reckoned  among  their  deities,  was  not 
considered  so  powerful  as  those  of  a  more  boisterous 
.and  maleficent  nature.  The  Mexican  worship  was 
therefore  addressed  chiefly  to  ferocious  beings,  ene« 
mies  to  human  happiness,  who  delighted  in  the  tears 
tnd  blood  of  their  votaries.  The  difference  in  the  moral 
cast  of  religion  in  Peru  and  Mexico,  as  well  as  in 
Egypt  and  Greece,  must  have  been  greatly  owing  to 
climate.  Indeed  in  what  else  should  it  be  found,  since 

r 

;he  origin  of  religious  ideas  must  have  been  in  the 
energies  of  those  visible  agents  which  form  the  dis- 
tinctive character  of  climates? 

No.  17. 
Long  is  the  tale;  but  tho  their  labors  rest 
By  years  obscured,  in  fio\ very  fiction  drest, 

Book  II.  Line  45-5, 

The  traditions  respecting  these  founders  of  the 
Peruvian  empire  are  indeed  obscure  ;  but  they  excite 
in  us  the  same  sort  of  veneration  that  we  feel  for  the 
most  amiable  and  distinguished  characters  of  remote 
antiquity.  The  honest  zeal  of  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega 
in  collecting  these  traditions  into  one  body  of  history, 
as  a  probable  series  of  facts,  is  to  be  applauded;  since 
he  has  there  presented  us  with  one  of  the  most  strik- 


WOTE  COLUMBIADi  219 

teg  examples  of  the  dm«  ufeai  in  political  character, 
that  can  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of  literature.  He 
treats  his  subject  with  more  natural  simplicity,  tho 
with  less  talent,  than  Plutarch  or  Xenophon,  when 
they  undertake  a  similar  task,  that  of  drawing  tradi- 
tional characters  to  fill  up  the  middle  space  between 
fable  and  history. 

With  regard  to  the  true  position  that  the  portrait 
of  Mc.nco  Capac  ought  to  hold  in  this  middle  space, 
how  near  it  should  standi  to  history  and  how  near  to 
fable,  we  should  find  it  difficult  to  say  and  perhaps  use- 
less to  inquire.  Plutarch  has  gravely  given  us  the 
lives  and  actions  of  several  heroes  who  are  evidently 
mo'.e  fabulous  than  Capax,  and  of  others  who  should 
be  placed  on  the  same  line  with  him.  The  existe.ee 
of  Theseus,  Romulus  and  Numa  is  more  doubtful  and 
their  i.etions  less  probable  than  his.  The  character  of' 
Capac,  in  regard  to  its  reality,  stands  on  a  parallel  with 
that  of  the  Lycurgus  of  Plutarch  and  the  Cyrus  of 
Xenophon  ;  not  purely  historical  nor  purely  fabulous, 
but  presented  to  us  as  a  compendium  of  those  talents 
and  labors  which  might  possibly  be  crowded  into  the 
capacity  of  one  mind  and  be  achieved  in  one  life,  but 
which  more  probably  belong  to  several  generations; 
the  talents  and  laboi  s  that  could  reduce  a  great  num- 
ber of  ferocious  tribes  into  one  peaceable  and  indus- 
trious state. 

Garcilasso  was  himself  an  Inca  by  maternal  de- 
scent, born  and  educated  at  Cusco  after  the  Spanish 
congest.    He  writes  apparently  with  the  most  scri> 


220  COLUMBIAD.'  NOI 

pulous  regard  to  truth,  with  little  judgment  and  no 
ornament.  He  discovers  a  credulous  zeal  to  throw  a 
,  lustre  on  his  remote  ancestor  Manco  Capac,  not  by 
inventing  new  incidents,  but  by  collecting  with  £1 
industry  all  that  had  been  recorded  in  the  annals  of 
the  family.  And  their  manner  of  recording  events, 
tho  not  so  perfect  as  that  of  writing,  was  not  so  liable 
to  error  as  traditions  merely  oral,  like  those  of  the 
Caledonian  and  other  Celtic  bards,  with  respect  to 
the  ancient  heroes  of  their  countries. 

His  account  states,  that  about  four  centuries  pre- 
is  to  the  discovery  of  that  country  by  the  Spaniards, 
the  natives  of  Peru  were  as  rude  savages  as  any  ia 
America.  They  had  no  fixed  habitations,  no  ideas  of 
permanent  property ;  they  wandered  naked  like  the 
sis  and  like  them  depended  on  the  events  of  each 
day  for  a  subsistence.  At  this  period  Manco  Capac 
and  his  wife  Mama  Oella  appeared  on  a  small  island 
in  the  lake  Titiaca,  near  which  the  city  of  Cusco  was 
afterwards  built.  These  persons,  to  establish  a  belief 
of  their  divinity  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  were 
clothed  in  white  garments  of  cotton  and  declared  them- 
selves descended  from  the  sun,  who  was  their  father 
and  the  god  of  that  country.  They  affirmed  that  he 
was  offended  at  their  cruel  and  perpetual  wars,  their 
barbarous  modes  of  worship  and  their  neglecting  to 
make  the  best  use  of  the  blessings  he  was  constantly 
bestowing,  in  fertilizing  the  earth  and  producing  ve- 
getation; that  he  pitied  their  wretched  si 


HOU  COLUMBIAD  221 

^ont  his  own  children  to  instruct  them  and  to  cstabli 
a  number  of  wise  regulations,  by  which  they  might  be 
rendered  happy. 

By  some  uncommon  method  of  persuasion,  these 
persons  drew  together  a  few  oT  the  savage  tribes,  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  city  of  Cusco  and  established 
what  is  called  the  kingdom  of  the  Sun,  or  the  Peruvian 
empire.  In  the  reign  of  Manco  Capac,  the  dominion 
was  extended  about  eight  leagues  from  the  city  ;  and 
at  the  end  of  four  centuries  it  was  established  fifteen 
hundred  miles  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific  ocean,  and 
from  that  ocean  to  the  Andes.  During  this  period,  thro 
a  succession  of  twelve  monarchy  the  original  consti- 
tution, established  by  the  first  Inca,  remained  unalter- 
ed; and  this  constitution,  with  the  empire  itself,  was 
at  last  overturned  by  an  accident  which  no  human  wis- 
dom could  foresee  or  prevent. 

For  a  more  particular  detail  of  the  character  and 
institutions  of  this  extraordinary  personage  the  reader 
is  referred  to  a  subsequent  note,  in  which  he  will  find 
a  dissertation  on  that  subject. 

In  the  passage  preceding  this  reference,  I  have  al- 
luded to  the  fabulous  traditions  relating  to  these  chil- 
dren of  the  sun.  In  the  remainder  of  the  second  and 
thro  the  whole  of  the  third  book,  I  have  given  v 
may  be  supposed  a  probable  narrative  of  their  real  ori- 
gin and  actions.  The  space   allowed  to  this  episode 

v  appear  too  considerable  in  a  poem  whose  princi- 
pal object  is  so  different.  But  it  may  be  useful  to  ex* 

;tin  action  the  manners  and  sentiments  of  saT 

T  2 


-222  COLUMBIA© 

tribes,  whose  aliment  is  war;  that  the  contrast  may 
show  more  forcibly  the  advantages  of  civilized  life, 
whose  aliment  is  peace. 

'No.  18. 
Long  robes  jof  white  my  *Aau  :  embrace 

Ih  rfieak  vvj  lineage  of  etherial  race; 

Book  II.  Line 

aid  to  have  been  invent- 
ed by  Oella,  it  is  no  improbable  fiction  to  imagine  that 
they  first  assumed  these  white  garments  of  cotton  as 
an  emblem  of  the  sun,  in  order  to  inspire  that  reve- 
rence for  their  persons  which  was  necessary  to  their 
"success.  Such  a  dress  may  likewise  be  supposed  to 
have  continued  in  the  family  as  a  badge  of  royalty. 

No.  19. 

BISSERTATION  OX  THE  INSTITUTIONS  OF  MANCO  CAPAC. 
For  the  e  k  II. 

Altho  the  original  inhabitants  of  America  in  gene- 
ral deserve  to  be  classed  among  the  most  unimproved 
savages  that  had  been  discovered  before  those  of  New 
Holland,  yet  the  Mexican  and  Peruvian  governments 
exhibited  remarkable  exceptions,  and  seemed  to  be 
fast  approaching  to  a  state  of  civilization.  In  the  diffe- 
rence of  national  character  between  the  people  of  these 
two  empires  we  may  discern  the  influence  of  political 
systems  on  the  human  mind,  and  infer  the  importance 
of  the  task  which  a  legislator  undertakes,  in  attempt- 
ing to  reduce  a  barbarous  people  under  the  control  of 
government  and  I?. 


&0TE6  ^OLVMMAD. 

The  Mexican  constitution  was  formed  to  re ndei  its 
subjects  brave  and  powerful;  but,  while  it  succeeded 

lis  object,  it  kept  them  far  removed  from  the  real 
blessings  of  society.  According  to  the  Spanish  accounts 
C which  for  an  obvious  reason  may  however  be  suspect- 
ed of  exaggeration)  the  manners  of  the  Mexicans  v.  ere 
uncommonly  ferDcioos,  and  their  religion  gloomy, 
sanguinary  and  tmrefenting.  But  the  establishments 
of  Manco  Ci.pac,  if  we  may  follow  Garcilasso  in  attri- 
buting the  whole  of  the  Peruvian  constitution  to  that 
wonderful  personage,  present  the  aspect  of  a  most 
benevolent  and  pacific  system;  they  tended  to  human- 
ize the  woiid  and  render  his  people  happy;  while  his 
ideas  of  deity  were  so  elevated  as  to  bear  a  comparison 
with  the  sublime  doctrines  of  Socrates  or  Plato. 

The  characters,  whether  real  or  fabulous,  who  are 
the  most  distinguished  as  lawgivers  among  barbarous 
nations,  are  Moses,  Lycurgus,  Solon,  Numa,  Maho- 
met and  Peter  of  Russia.  Of  these,  only  the  two  for- 
mer and  the  two  latter  appear  really  to  deserve  the 
character  of  lawgivers.  Solon  and  Numa  possessed 
not  the  opportunity  of  showing  their  talents  in  the 
work  of  original  legislation.  Athens  and  Rome  were 
considerably  civilized  before  these  persons  arose.  The 
most  they  could  do  was  to  correct  and  amend  constitu- 
tions already  formed.  Solon  may  be*  considered  as  a 
wise  politician,  but  by  no  means  as  the  founder  of  a 
nation.  The  Athenians  were  too  far  advanced  in  so- 
ciety to  admit  any  radical  change  in  their  form  of  go- 
vernment; unles?  recourse  could  have  been   had  to 


224  CGLUMBIAD.  NOTES. 

the  representative  system,  by  establishing  an  equality 
of  rank  and  instructing  all  the  people  in  their  duties 
and  their  rights;  a  system  which  was  never  under- 
stood by  any  ancient  legislator. 

The  institutions  of  Numa  (if  such  a  person  as  Nu- 
ma  really  existed)  were  more  effective  and  durable, 
His  religious  ceremonies  were  for  many  ages  the 
most  powerful  check  on  the  licentious  and  turbulent 
Romans;  the  greater  part  of  whom  were  ignorant 
slaves.  By  inculcating  a  remarkable  reverence  for  the 
gods  and  making  it  necessary  to  consult  the  auspices 
when  any  thing  important  was  to  be  transacted,  his 
object  was  to  render  the  popular  superstition  subser- 
vient to  the  views  of  policy  and  thus  to  give  the  senate 
a  steady  check  upon  the  plebeians.  But  the  constitu- 
tions of  Rome  and  Athens,  notwithstanding  the  abun- 
dant applause  that  has  been  bestowed  upon  them,  were 
never  fixed  on  any  permanent  principles;  tho  the 
wisdom  of  some  of  their  rulers  and  the  spirit  of  liber- 
ty that  inspired  the  citizens  may  justly  demand  our 
admiration. 

Each  of  the  other  legislators  above  mentioned 
deserves  a  particular  consideration,  as  having  acted  in 
stations  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the  Peruvian 
patriarch.  Three  objects  are  to  be  attended  to  by  the 
legislator  of  a  barbarous  people:  First,  That  his 
system  be  such  as  is  capable  of  reducing  the  greatest 
number  of  men  under  one  jurisdiction:  Second,  That 
it  apply  to  such  principles  in  human  nature  for  its  sup- 
port as  ars  universal  and  permanent,  in  order  to  v.- 


MOT!  COLUMBIA!).  225 

sure  the*  duration  of  the  government:  Third,  That  it 
admit  of  improvements  correspondent  to  any  advance- 
ment in  knowledge  or  variation  of  circumstances  that 
may  happen  to  its  subjects,  without  endangering  the 
principle  of  government  by  such  innovations.  So  far 
as  the  systems  of  such  legislators  agree  with  these 
fundamental  principles,  they  are  worthy  of  respect; 
and  so  far  as  they  deviate,  they  may  be  considered  as 
defective. 

To  begin  with  Moses  and  Lycurgus:  It  is  proper 
to  observe  that  in  order  to  judge  of  the  merit  of  any 
institutions,  we  must  take  into  view  the  peculiar  char- 
acter of  the  people  for  whom  they  were  framed.  For 
want  of  this  attention,  many  of  the  laws  of  Moses  and 
some  of  those  of  Lycurgus  have  been  ridiculed  and 
censured.  The  Jews,  when  led  by  Moses  out  of  Egypt, 
were  not  only  uncivilized,  but  having  just  risen  to  in- 
dependence from  a  state  of  servitude  they  united  the 
manners  of  servants  and  savages;  and  their  national 
character  was  a  compound  ofeervility,  ignorance,  filthi- 
ness  and  cruelty.  Of  their  cruelty  as  a  people  we  need 
no  other  proofthan  the  account  of  their  avengers  of  blood 
and  the  readiness  with  which  the  whole  congregation 
turned  executioners  and  stoned  to  death  the  devoted 
offenders.  The  leprosy,  a  disease  now  scarcely  known, 
wTas  undoubtedly  produced  by  a  want  of  cleanliness, 
continued  for  successive  generations.  In  this  view 
their  frequent  ablutions,  their  peculiar  modes  of  trial 
and  several  other  institutions  may  be  vindicated  from 
ridicule  and  proved  to  be  wise  regulations. 


226  COLUMBIA!).  NOTES. 

The  Spartan  lawgiver  has  been  censurecT  for  the 
toleration  of  theft  and  adultery.  Among  that  race  of 
barbarians  these  habits  were  too  general  to  adn.it  of 
total  prevention  or  universal  punishment.  By  vesting 
all  property  in  the  commonwealth,  instead  of  encour- 
aging theft  he  removed  the  possibility  of  the  crime; 
and,  in  a  nation  where  licentiousness  was  generally 
indulged,  it  was  a  great  step  towards  introducing  a 
purity  of  manners,  to  punish  adultery  in  all  cases 
wherein  it  was  committed  without  the  consent  of  ail 
parties  interested  in  its  consequences. 

Until  the  institution  of  representative  republics* 
which  are  of  recent  date,  it  was  found  that  those  con- 
stitutions of  government  were  best  calculated  for  im- 
mediate energy  and  duration,  which  were  interwoven 
with  some  religious  system.  The  legislate 
pears  in  the  character  of  an  inspired  person  renders 
his  political  institutions  sacred  and  interests  the  con- 
science as  well  as  the  judgment  in  their  support.  The 
Jewish  lawgiver  had  this  advantage  over  the  Spartan: 
he  appeared  not  in  the  character  of  a  mere  earthly 
governor,  but  as  an  interpreter  of  the  divine  will.  By 
enjoining  a  religious  observance  of  certain  rites  he 
formed  his  people  to  habitual  obedience;  by  directing 
their  cruelty  against  the  breakers  of  the  laws  he  at 
least  mitigated  the  rancor  of  private  hatred;  by  direct- 
ing til.  property  should  return  to  the  original 
families  in  the  year  of  Jubilee  he  prevented  too  great 
an  inequality  of  wealth;  and  by  selecting  a  single  tribe 
to  be  the  interpreters  of  religion  he  nrevented  its 


, 


NOTES.  COLUMTHAD.  22iT 

mysteries  from  being  the  subject  of  profane  and  vul- 
.  /estimation.  With  a  view  of  securing;  the  per- 
manence of  his  institutions,  he  prohibited  intercourse 
with  foreigners  by  severe  restrictions  and  formed  his 
people  to  habits  and  a  character  disagreeable  to  other 
nations;  so  that  any  foreign  intercourse  was  prevented 
by  the  mutual  hatred  of  both  parties. 

To  these  institutions  the  laws  of  Lycurgus  bear 
a  striking  resemblance.  The  features  of  his  constitu- 
tion were  severe  and  forbidding;  it  was  however  cal- 
culated to  inspire  the  most  enthusiastic  love  of  liberty 
and  martial  honor.  In  no  country  was  the  patriotic 
passion  more  energetic  than  in  Sparta;  no  laws  ever 
excluded  the  idea  of  separate  property  in  an  equal 
degree  or  inspired  a  greater  contempt  for  the  man- 
ners of  other  nations.  The  prohibition  of  money,  com- 
merce and  almost  every  thing  desirable  to  effeminate 
nations,  excluded  foreigners  from  Sparta;  and  while 
it  inspired  the  people  with  contempt  for  strangers  it 
made  them  agreeable  to -each  other.  By  these  means 
Lycurgus  rendered  the  nation  warlike;  and  to  insure 
the  duration  of  the  government  he  endeavored  to 
interest  the  consciences  of  his  people  by  the  aid  of 
oracles  and  by  the  oath  he  is  said  to  have  exacted 
from  them  to  obey  his  laws  till  his  return,  when  he 
went  into  perpetual  exile. 

From  this  view  of  the  Jewish  and  Spartan  institu- 
tions, applied  to  the  principles  before  stated,  they  ap- 
pear in  the  two  first  articles  considerably  imperfect, 
and  in  the  last  totally  defective.    Neither  of  them  w*fc 


228  COLtTMBTAD.  NOTES. 

calculated  to  bring  any  considerable  territory  or  num- 
ber of  men  under  one  jurisdiction;  from  this  cicum- 
stance  alone  they  could  not  be  rendered  permanent, 
as  nations  so  restricted  in  their  means  of  extension 
mint  be  constantly  exposed  to  their  more  powerful 
neighbors.  But  the  third  object  of  legislation,  that  of 
providing  for  the  future  progress  of  society,  which  as 
it  regards  the  happiness  of  mankind  is  the  most  im- 
portant of  the  three,  was  in  both  instances  entirely 
neglected.  These  systems  appear  to  have  been  formed 
with  an  express  design  to  prevent  future  improvement 
in  knowledge  or  enlargement  of  the  human  miiic  and 
to  fix  those  nations  in  a  state  of  ignorance  and  bai 
rism.  To  vindicate  their  authors  from  an  imputation 
of  weakness  or  inattention  in  this  particular,  it  may 
be  urged  that  they  were  each  of  them  surrounded  by 
nations  more  powerful  than  their  own;  it  was  thereto  c 
perhaps  impossible  for  them  to  commence  an  establish- 
ment upon  any  other  plan. 

The  institutions  of  Mahomet  are  next\o  be  consi- 
dered. The  first  object  of  legislation  appears  to  have 
been  better  understood  by  him  than  by  either  of  the  pre- 
ceding sages;  his  jurisdiction  was  capable  of  being 
enlarged  to  any  extent  of  territory,  and  govern 
number  of  nations  that  might  be  subjugated  by  his 
enthusiastic  armies;  and  his  system  of  religion 
admirably  calculated  to  attain  this  object.  Like  Moses, 
he  convinced  his  people  that  he  acted  as  the  viceger- 
ent of  God;  but  with  this  advantage,  adapting  his  re- 
ligion to  the  natural  feelings  and  propensities  of  man- 


rES.  COLUMBIAD. 

kind,  he  multiplied  his  followers  by  the  allurements 
of  pleasure  and  the  promise  of  a  sensual  paradise. 
These  circumstances  were  likewise  sure  to  render  his 
constitution  durable.  His  religious  system  was  so 
easy  to  be  understood,  so  splendid  and  so  inviting, 
there  could  be  no  danger  that  the  people  would  lose 
sight  of  its  principles,  and  no  necessity  of  future  pro- 
phets to  explain  its  doctrines  or  reform  the  nation. 
To  these  advantages  if  we  add  the  exact  and  rigid 
military  discipline,  the  splendor  and  sacredness  of  the 
monarch  and  that  total  ignorance  among  the  people 
which  such  a  system  will  produce  and  perpetuate,  the 
establishment  must  have  been  evidently  calculated 
for  a  considerable  extent  and  duration.  But  the  last 
;md  most  important  end  of  government,  that  of  mental 
improvement  and  social  happiness,  was  deplorably  lost 
in  the  institution.  There  was  probably  more  learning 
and  cultivated  genius  in  Arabia  in  the  days  of  this 
extraordinary  man  than  can  now  l)e  found  in  all  the 
Mahometan  dominions. 

On  the  contrary,  the  enterprising  mind  of  the 
Russian  monarch  appears  to  have  been  wholly  bent  on 
the  arts  of  civilization  and  the  improvement  of  society 
among  his  subjects.  Established  in  a  legal  title  to  a 
throne,  which  already  commanded  a  prodigious  extent 
of  country,  he  found  the  first  object  of  government 
already  secured;  and  by  applying  himself  with  great 
sagacity  to  the  third  object,  that  of  improving  his  peo- 
ple, it  was  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  second,  the 
durability  of  his  system,  would  beome  a  necessary 
Vol.  I,  U 


230  COLUMBIAN  NOTES- 

consequence.  He  effected  his  purposes,  important  as 
they  were,  merely  by  the  introduction  of  the  arts  and 
the  encouragement  of  politer  manners.  The  greatness 
of  his  character  appears  not  so  much  in  his  institu- 
tions, which  he  copied  from  other  nations,  as  in  the 
extraordinary  measures  he  followed  to  introduce  them, 
the  judgment  he  showed  in  selecting  and  adapting 
them  to  the  genius  of  his  subjects  and  the  surprising 
assiduity  by  which  he  raised  a  savage  people  to  an 
elevated  rank  among  European  nations. 

To  the  nature  and  operation  of  the  several  forms 
of  government  above  mentioned  I  will  compare  that 
of  the  Peruvian  lawgiver.  I  have  observed  in  a  pre- 
ceding note  that  the  knowledge  we  have  of  Manco 
Capac  is  necessarily  imperfect  and  obscure,  derived 
thro  traditions  and  family  registers  (without  the  aid  of 
writing)  for  four  hundred  years:  from  the  time  he  is 
supposed  to  have  lived,  till  that  of  his  historian  and 
descendent,  Inca  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega.  About  an 
equal  interval  elapsed  from  the  supposed  epoch  of  the 
first  kings  of  Rome  to  that  of  their  first  historians;  a 
longer  space  from  Lycurgus  to  Herodotus;  probably 
not  a  shorter  one  from  the  time  of  the  great  Cyrus  to 
that  of  Xenophon,  author  of  the  elegant  romance  on 
the  actions  of  that  hero. 

I  recal  the  reader's  attention  to  these  comparisons, 
not  with  a  view  of  contending  that  our  accounts  of  the 
actions  ascribed  to  Capac  are  derived  from  authentic 
records,  and  that  he  is  a  subject  of  real  history,  like 
Mahomet  or  Peter;  but  to  show  that  our  channels  of 


NOTES  I  MP,!  VI).  231 

information  with  regard  to  him  being  equally  respect- 
able with  those  that  have  brought  us  acquainted  with 
the  classical  and  venerable  names  of  Lycurgus,  Romu- 
lus, Numa  and  Cyrus,  we  may  be  as  correct  in  our 
reasonings  from  the  modern  as  from  the  ancient 
source  of  reference,  and  fancy  ourselves  treading  a 
ground  as  sacred  on  the  tomb  of  the  western  patriarch, 
as  on  those  more  frequented  and  less  scrutinized  in 
the  east,  consecrated  to  the  demigods  of  Sparta,  Rome 
and  Persia. 

It  is  probable  that  the  savages  of  Peru  before  the 
time  of  Capac,  among  other  objects  of  adoration,  paid 
homage  to  the  sun.  By  availing  h  this  popu 

lar  sentiment  he  appeared,  like  Moses  and  Mahomed 
in  the  character  of  a  divine  legislator  endowed  with 
supernatural  powers.  After  impressing 
the  minds  of  the  people,  drawing  together 
of  the  tribes  and  rendering  them  subservient  to  h 
nevolent  purposes,  he  applied  himself  to  forming  the 
outlines  of  a  plan  of  policy,  capable  of  founding  and 
regulating  an  extensive  empire,  wisely  calculated  for 
long  duration  and  well  adapted  to  improve  the  know 
ledge,  peace  and  happiness  of  a  considerable  portion 
of  mankind.  In  the  allotment  of  the  lands  as  private 
property  he  invented  a  mode  somewhat  resembling 
the  feudal  system  of  Europe:  yet  this   system  was 
checked  in  its  operation  by  a  law  similar  to  that  o 
Moses  which  regulated  landed  possessions  in  the  yea: 
of  Jubilee.  He  divided  the  lands  into  three  parts:  the 
as  consecrated  to  the  uses  of  religion;  as  b    fa 


238  COLUMBIA!*.  NO! 

from  the  sacerdotal  part  of  his  system  that  he  doubt- 
less expected  its  most  powerful  support.  The  second 
portion  was  set  apart  for  the  Inca  and  his  family,  to 
enable  him  to  defray  the  expenses  of  government  and 
appear  in  the  style  of  a  monarch.  The  third  and  lar- 
gest portion  was  allotted  to  the  people  ;  which  allot- 
ment wTas  repeated  every  year  and  varied  according  to 
the  number  and  exigences  of  each  family. 

As  the  Incan  race  appeared  in  the  character  of  di- 
gnities, it  seemed  necessary  that  a  subordination  of 
rank  should  be  established  to  render  the  distinction 
between  the  monarch  and  his  people  more  perceptible. 
With  this  view  he  created  a  band  of  nobles  who  were 
Lguished  by  personal  and  hereditary  honors.  These 
were  united  to  the  monarch  by  the  strongest  ties  of 
interest:  in  peace  they  acted  as  judges  and  superintend- 
ed the  police  of  the  empire ;  in  war  they  commanded 
in  the  armies.  The  next  order  of  men  were  the  re- 
spectable landholders  and  cultivators,  who  composed 
the  principal  strength  of  the  nation.  Below  these  was 
a  class  of  men  who  were  the  servants  of  the  public 
and  cultivated  the  public  lands.  They  possessed  no 
property;  and  their  security  depended  on  their  regular 
industry  and  peaceable  demeanor.  Above  all  these  or- 
ders were  the  Inca  and  his  family.  He  possessed  ab- 
solute and  uncontrollable  power.  His  mandates  were 
regarded  as  the  word  of  heaven;  and  the  double  guilt 
of  impiety  and  rebellion  attended  on  disobedience. 

To  impress  the  utmost  veneration  for  the  Incan 
family  it  was  a  fundamental  principle  that  the  nfd 


COLUMBIAN  233 

blood  should  never  be  contaminated  by  any  foreign  al 
liaace.  The  mysteries  of  religion  were  preserved  sa 
cred  by  the  high  priest  of  the  royal  family  under  the 
control  of  the  king  and  celebrated  with  rites  capable  ol 
making  the  deepest  impression  on  the  multitude.  The 
annual  distribution  of  the  lands,  while  it  provided  for 
the  varying  circumstances  of  each  family,  was  design- 
ed to  strengthen  the  bands  of  society  by  perpetuating 
that  distinction  of  rank  among  the  orders  which  is 
supposed  necessary  to  a  monarchical  government:  the 
peasants  could  not  vie  with  their  superiors;  and  the 
nobles  could  not  be  subjected  by  misfortune  to  a  sub- 
ordinate station.  A  constant  habit  of  industry  was  in- 
culcated upon  all  ranks  by  the  force  of  example.  The 
cultivation  of  the  soil,  which  in  most  other  countries  is 
considered  as  one  of  the  lowest  employments,  was 
here  regarded  as  a  divine  art.  Having  had  no  know- 
ledge of  it  before  and  being  taught  it  by  the  children 
of  their  god,  the  people  viewed  it  as  a  sacred  privilege, 
a  national  honor  to  assist  the  sun  in  opening  the  bosom 
of  the  earth  to  produce  vegetation.  That  the  govern- 
ment might  be  able  to  exercise  the  endearing  acts  of 
beneficence,  the  produce  of  the  public  lands  was  re- 
served in  magazines  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  unfor- 
tunate and  as  a  resource  in  case  of  scarcity  or  invasion. 
These  are  the  outlines  of  a  government  the  most 
simple  and  energetic,  and  at  least  as  capable  as  any 
monarchy  within  our  knowledge  of  reducing  great  and 
populous  countries  under  one  jurisdiction  f  at  the  same 
time,  accommodating  its  principle  of  action  to  every 

U2 


£34  COLUMBIAD.  4 

stage  of  improvement,  by  a  singular  and  happy  appli- 
cation to  the  passions  of  the  human  mind,  it  encoura- 
ged the  advancement  of  knowledge  without  being  en- 
dangered by  success. 

In  the  traits  of  character  which  distinguish  this 
institution  we  may  discern  all  the  great  principles  of 
each  of  the  legislators  above  mentioned.  The  preten- 
sions of  Capac  to  divine  authority  were  as  artfully  con- 
trived and  as  effectual  in  their  consequences  as  those  of 
Mahomet;  his  exploding  the  worship  of  evil  beings  and 
objects  of  terror,  forbidding  human  sacrifices  and  ac- 
commodating the  rites  of  worship  to  a  god  of  justice  and 
benevolence,  produced  a  greater  change  in  the  national 
character  of  his  people  than  the  laws  of  Moses  did  in 
his;  like  Peter  he  provided  for  the  future  improvement 
of  society,  while  his  actions  were  never  measured  on 
the  contracted  scale  which  limited  the  genius  of  Ly- 
curgus. 

Thus  far  we  find  that  altho  the  political  system  of 
Capac  did  not  embrace  that  extensive  scope  of  human 
nature  which  is  necessaiy  in  forming  republican  insti- 
tutions, and  which  can  be  drawn  only  from  long  and 
well  recorded  experience  of  the  passions  and  tenden- 
cies of  social  man,  yet  it  must  be  pronounced  at  least 
equal  to  those  of  the  most  celebrated  monarchical  law- 
givers, whether  ancient  or  modern.  But  in  some  things 
his  mind  seems  to  have  attained  an  elevation  with 
which  few  of  theirs  will  bear  a  comparison:  I  mean 
in  his  religious  institutions  and  the  exalted  ideas  he 
bad  formed  of  the  agency  and  attributes  of  supernatu- 
ral beings. 


(  0LUMB1AD,  X36> 

From  what  source  lie  could  have  drawn  these  ideas 
it  is  difficult  to  form  a  satisfactory  conjecture.  The 
worship  of  the  sun  is  so  natural  to  an  early  state  of 
society,  in  a  mild  climate  with  a  clear  atmosphere, 
may  be  as  reasonable  to  suppose  it  would  ori- 
ginate in  Peru  as  in  Egypt  or  Persia;  where  we  find 
that  a  similar  worship  did  originate  and  was  wrought 
into  a  splendid  system ;  whence  it  was  probably  ex- 
tended, with  various  modifications,  over  most  of  the 
ancient  world. 

Or  if  we  reject  this  theory  and  suppose  that  only 
one  nation,  from  some  circumstance  peculiar  to  itself, 
could  create  the  materials  of  such  a  system,  and  has 
consequently  had  the  privilege  of  giving  its  religion  to 
the  human  race,  we  may  in  this  case  imagine  that  the 
Phenicians  (who  colonized  Cadiz  and  other  places  in 
the  west  of  Europe  at  the  time  when  they  possessed 
the  solar  worship  in  all  its  glory)  must  have  had  a 
vessel  driven  across  the  Atlantic,  and  thus  conveyed 
a  stock  of  inhabitants  with  their  own  religious  ideas  to- 
the  western  continent. 

The  first  theory  is  doubtless  the  most  plausible. 
And  the  mild  regions  of  Peru,  for  the  reasons  men- 
tioned in  a  former  note,  became  like  Egypt  the  seat 
of  an  institution  so  congenial  to  its  climate.  But  in 
more  boisterous  climates,  where  storms  and  other  vi- 
olent agents  prevail,  many  different  fables  have  wrought 
themselves  into  the  system,  as  remarked  in  the  same 
note ;  and  the  solar  religion  in  such  countries  has  ge- 
nerally lost  its  name  and  the  more  beneficent  parts  of 


236  LUMBIAD  >T£3 

its  influence.  Being  thus  corrupted,  religion  in  almost 
every  part  of  the  earth  assumed  a  gloomy  and  sangui- 
nary character. 

Savage  nations  create  their  gods  from  such  mate- 
rials as  they  have  at  hand,  the  most  striking  to  their 
senses.  And  these  are  in  general  an  assemblage  of 
destructive  attributes.  They  usually  form  no  idea  of  a 
general  superintending  providence.  They  consider  not 
their  god  as  the  author  of  their  beings,  the  creator  of 
the  world  and  the  dispenser  of  the  happiness  they  en- 
joy. They  discern  him  not  in  the  usual  course  of  na- 
ture, in  the  sunshine  and  in  the  shower,  the  produc- 
tions of  the  earth  and  the  blessings  of  society.  They 
find  a  deity  only  in  the  storm,  the  earthquake  and  the 
whirlwind;  or  ascribe  to  him  the  evils  of  pestilence 
and  famine.  They  consider  him  as  interposing  in  wrath 
to  change  the  course  of  nature  and  exercise  the  attri- 
butes of  rage  and  revenge.  They  adore  him  with  rites 
suited  to  these  attributes,  with  horror,  with  penance 
and  with  sacrifice.  They  imagine  him  pleased  with  the 
severity  of  their  mortifications,  with  the  oblations  of 
blood  and  the  cries  of  human  victims;  and  they  hope 
to  compound  for  greater  judgments  by  voluntary  suf- 
ferings and  horrid  sacrifices,  suited  to  the  relish  of  his 
taste. 

Perhaps  no  single  criterion  can  be  given  which  will 
determine  more  accurately  the  state  of  society  in  any 
age  or  nation  than  their  general  ideas  concerning  the 
nature  and  attributes  of  deity.  In  the  most  enlighten- 
ed periods  of  antiquity,  only  a  few  of  their  philosophers, 


NOTES  COLUMBIAD.  237 

a  Socrates,  Tully  or  Confucius,  ever  formed  a  rational 
idea  on  the  subject,  or  described  a  god  of  purity,  jus- 
tice and  benevolence.  But  Capac,  erecting  his  institu- 
tions in  a  country  where  the  visible  agents  of  nature 
inspired  more  satisfactory  feelings,  adopted  a  milder 
system.  As  the  sun  with  its  undisturbed  influence 
seemed  to  point  itself  out  as  the  supreme  controller 
and  vital  principle  of  nature,  he  formed  the  idea,  as 
the  Egyptians  had  done  before,  of  constituting  that 
luminary  the  chief  object  of  adoration.  He  taught  the 
nation  to  consider  the  sun  as  the  parent  of  the  universe, 
the  god  of  order  and  regularity;  ascribing  to  his  influ- 
ence the  rotation  of  the  seasons,  the  productions  of  the 
earth  and  the  blessings  of  health;  especially  attributing 
to  his  inspiration  the  wisdom  of  their  laws  and  that 
happy  constitution  which  was  the  delight  and  venera- 
tion of  the  people. 

A  system  so  just  and  benevolent,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, was  attended  with  success.  In  about  four  cen- 
turies the  dominion  of  the  Incas  had  extended  fifteen 
hundred  miles  in  length  and  had  introduced  peace> 
and  prosperity  thro  the  whole  region.  The  arts  of 
society  had  been  carried  to  a  considerable  degree  of 
improvement  and  the  authority  of  the  Incan  race 
universally  acknowledged,  when  an  event  happened 
which  disturbed  the  tranquillity  of  the  empire. 'Huana 
Capac.  the  twelfth  monarch,  had  reduced  the  powerful 
kingdom  of  Quito  and  annexed  it  to  his  dominions. 
To  conciliate  the  affections  of  his  new  subjects,  he 
ed  a  daughter  of  the  ancient  king  of  (^uito,  whs 


238  COLUMBIAD.  \(j 

was  not  of  the  race  of  the  Incas.  Thus,  by  violating  a 
fundamental  law  of  the  empire,  he  left  at  his  death  a 
disputed  succession  to  the  throne.  Atabalipa,  the  son 
of  Huana  by  the  heiress  of  Quito,  being  in  possession 
of  the  principal  force  of  the  Peruvian  armies  left  at 
that  place  on  the  death  of  his  father,  gave  battle  to  his 
brother  HuSscar,  who  was  the  elder  son  of  Huana  by 
a  lawful  wife,  and  legal  heir  to  the  crown. 

After  a  long  and  destructive  civil  war  the  former 
was  victorious;  and  thus  was  that  flourishing  kingdom 
left  a  prey  to  regal  dissensions  and  to  the  few  soldiers 
of  Pizarro,  who  happened  at  that  juncture  to  make  a 
descent  upon  the  coast.  In  this  manner  he  effected  an 
easy  conquest  and  an  utter  destruction  of  a  numer- 
ous, brave,  unfortunate  people. 

It  is  however  obvious  that  this  deplorable  event 
is  not  to  be  charged  on  Capac,  as  the  consequence  of 
any  defect  in  his  institution.  It  is  impossible  that  an 
original  legislator  should  effectually  guard  against  the 
folly  of  all  future  sovereigns.  Capac  had  not  only  re- 
moved every  temptation  that  could  induce  a  wise 
prince  to  wish  for  a  change  in  the  constitution,  but 
had  connected  the  ruin  of  his  authority  with  the 
change;  for  he  who  disregards  any  part  of  institutions 
deemed  sacred  teaches  his  people  to  consider  the 
whole  as  an  imposture.  Had  he  made  a  law  ordaining 
that  the  Peruvians  should  be  absolved  from  their 
allegiance  to  a  prince  who  should  violate  the  laws,  it 
would  have  implied  possible  error  and  imperfection 
in  those  persons  whom  the  people  were  ordered  to  re- 


rBS.  COLUMB1AD  239 

gard  as  divinities.  The  reverence  due  to  characters 
who  made  such  high  pretensions  would  have  been 
weakened;  and  instead  of  rendering*  the  constitution 
perfect,  such  a  law  would  have  been  its  greatest  de- 
fect. Besides,  it  is  probable  the  rupture  might  have  been 
healed  and  the  succession  settled,  with  as  little  dif- 
ficulty as  frequently  happens  with  partial  revolutions  in 
other  kingdoms,  had  not  the  descent  ol  the  Spaniards 
prevented  it.  And  this  event,  for  that  age  and  country, 
must  have  been  beyond  the  possibility  of  human  fore- 
sight. But  viewing  the  concurrence  of  these  fatal  ac- 
cidents, which  reduced  this  flourishing  empire  to  a 
level  with  many  other  ruined  and  departed  kingdoms, 
it  only  furnishes  an  additional  proof  that  no  political 
system  has  yet  had  the  privilege  to  be  perfect. 

On  the  whole  it  is  evident  that  the  system  of  Capac 
(if  the  Peruvian  constitution  may  be  so  called)  is  one 
of  the  greatest  exertions  of  genius  to  be  found  in  the 
history  of  mankind.  When  we  consider  him  as  an 
Individual  emerging  from  the  midst  of  a  barbarous 
people,  having  seen  no  example  of  the  operation  of 
laws  in  any  country,  originating  a  plan  of  religion  and 
policy  never  equalled  by  the  sages  of  antiquity,  civi- 
lizing an  extensive  empire  and  rendering  religion 
and  government  subservient  to  the  general  happiness 
of  a  great  people,  there  is  no  danger  that  we  grow  too 
warm  in  his  praise  or  pronounce  too  high  a  eulogium 
on  his  character, 


240  COLUMBIA!*.  NOTES 

No.  20. 
Bade  yon  tall  temfile  grace  their  favorite  isle, 
The  mines  unfold,  the  cultured  rallies  smile, 

Book  III.  Line  5. 
One  of  the  great  temples  of  the  sun  was  built  on 
an  island  in  the  lake  Titiaca  near  Cusco,  to  consecrate 
the  spot  of  ground  where  Capac  and  Oella  first  made 
their  appearance  and  claimed  divine  honors  as  chil- 
dren of  the  sun. 

No.  21. 
His  eldest  hope,  young  Rocha,  at  his  call, 
Resigns  his  charge  within  the  tern  file  wall; 

Book  III.  Line  29. 
The  high  priest  of  the  sun  was  always  one  of  the 
royal  family;  and  in  every  generation  after  the  first, 
was  brother  to  the  king.  This  office  probably  began 
with  Rocha;  as  he  was  the  first  who  was  capable  of 
receiving  it,  and  as  it  was  necessary,  in  the  education 
of  the  prince,  that  he  should  be  initiated  in  the  sacred 
mysteries. 

No.  22. 
A  fiearl-drofit  girdle  bound  his  waist  below, 
Jnd  the  white  lautu  graced  his  lofty  brow. 

Book  III.  Line  15?. 

The  lautu  was  a  cotton  band,  twisted  and  worn  on 
the  head  of  the  Incas  as  a  badge  of  royalty.  It  made 
several  turns  round  the  head;  and,  according  to  the 
description  of  Garcilasso,  it  must  have  resembled  the 
Turkish  turban. 


NOTES.  MIUAD  241 

It  is  possible  that  both  the  lautu  and  the  turban  had 
their  remoi  c  origin  in  the  ancieut  astronomical  religion. 
whose  principal  god  was  the  sun  and  usually  repre- 
sented under  the  figure  of  a  man  with  the  horns  of  the 
ram;  that  is,  the  sun  in  the  sign  of  aries.  The  form  of 
the  lautu  and  of  the  turban  (which  I  suppose  to  be  the 
same)  seems  to  indicate  that  they  were  originally  de- 
signed as  emblems  or  badges;  and  when  properly 
twisted  and  wound  round  the  head,  as  Turks  of  dis- 
tinction usually  wear  the  turban,  they  resemble  the 
horns  of  the  ram  as  represented  in  those  figures  of 
Jupiter  Amnion  where  the  horns  curl  close  to  the 
head. 

There  is  an  engraving  in  Garciiasso  representing 
the  first  Inca  and  his  wife,  Capa-  and  Oella;  and  the 
heads  of  both  are  ornamented  with  i  ams'  horns  project- 
ing out  from  the  lautu.  Whether  tii-  figures  of  these 
personages  were  usually  so  represented  in  Peru  pre- 
vious to  the  Spanish  devastation,  would  be  difficult 
at  this  day  to  ascertain.  If  it  could  be  ascertain- 
ed that  they  were  usually  so  represented  there,  we 
might  esteem  it  a  remarkable  circumstance  in  proof 
of  the  unity  of  the  origin  of  their  religion  with  that  of 
the  ancient  Egyptians;  from  which  all  the  early  theo- 
logical systems  of  Asia  and  Europe,  as  far  as  they  have 
come  to  our  knowledge,  were  evidently  derived. 

Vol.  I.  X 


'J42  COLUMBIAN.  NOTES 

No.  23. 
Receive^  0  dreadful  Potver,  from  feeble  age. 
This  last  pure  offering  to  thy  sateless  rage; 

Book  III.  Line  181. 
Garcilasso  declares  that  the  different  tribes  of  those 
mountain  savages  worshipped  the  various  objects  of 
terror  that  annoyed  the  particular  parts  of  the  country 
where  they  dwelt:  such  as  storms,  volcanos,  rivers, 
lakes  and  several  beasts  and  birds  of  prey.  All  of  them 
believed  that  their  forefathers  were  descended  from 
the  gods  which  they  worshipped. 

Xo.  24. 
Held  to  the  sun  the  image  from  his  breast 
Whose  glowing  concave  all  the  god  exjirest; 

Book  III.  Line  - 

The  historian  of  the  Incas  relates  that  by  the  laws 
of  the  empire  none  but  sacred  fire  could  be  used  in 
sacrifices;  and  that  there  were  three  modes  in  which 
it  might  be  procured.  First,  the  most  sacred  fire  was 
that  which  was  drawn  immediately  from  the  sun  him- 
self by  means  of  a  concave  mirror,  which  was  usually 
made  of  gold  or  silver  highly  polished.  Second,  in  case 
of  cloudy  weather  or  other  accident,  the  fire  might  be 
taken  from  the  temple,  where  it  was  preserved  by  the 
holy  v3  hose  functions  and  discipline  resembled 

those  of  the  vestals  of  Rome.  Third,  when  the  sacrifice 
was  to  be   made  in  the  provinces  at  an  inconvenient 
distance  from  the  temple,  and  when  the  weather  was 
prevent  drawing  the  fire  inn 


NOT]  COLUMBIAD. 

the  sun,  it  waa  permitted  to  procure  it  by  the  friction 
of  two  pieces  of  dry  wood. 

The  two  latter  modes  were  resorted  to  0:1  V. 
of  necessity.  Not  to  be  able  to  obtain  fire  by 
means  of  the  mirror  was  a  bad  omen,  a  sign  of  dis- 
pleasure in  the  god;  it  cast  a  gloom  over  the  whole 
ceremony  and  threw  the  people  into  lamentations, 
fearing  their  offering  would  not  be  well  received. 

This  method  of  procuring  fire  directly  from  the 
SUB)  to  burn  a  sacrifice,  must  have  appeared  so  mira- 
culous to  the  savages  who  could  not  understand  it,  that 
it  doubtless  had  a  powerful  effect  in  converting  them 
to  the  solar  religion  and  to  the  Incan  government. 

No.  25. 
Dim  Paraguay  extends  the  aching  tight) 
Xaraya  glimmers  like  the  moon  of  nighty 

Book  III.  Line  S». 
Xaraya  is  a  lake  in  the  country  of  Paraguay  and  is 
the  principal  source  of  the  river  Paraguay.  This  river 
is  the  largest  branch  of  the  Plata. 

No.  26. 
The  Condor  frowning  from  a  southern  filain, 
Borne  on  a  standard^  leads  a  numerous  train: 

Book  III.  Line 

The  Condor  is  supposed  to  be  the  largest  bird  01 

prey  hitherto  known.    His  wings,  from  one  extreme 

♦o  the  other,  are  said  to  measure  fifteen  feet;  he  is 

able  to  carry  a  sheeg  in  his  talons,  and  he  sometimes 


244  COLUMBIA!*. 

attacks  men.  He  inhabits  the  high  mountains  of  Peru 
and  is  supposed  by  some  authors  to  be  peculiar  to  the 
American  continent.  Buftbn  believes  him  to  be  of  the 
same  species  with  the  laemmer-geyer  (lamb-vulture; 
of  the  Alps.  The  similarity  of  their  habitations  favors 
this  conjecture ;  but  the  truth  is,  the  Condor  of  Peru 
has  not  been  well  examined  and  his  history  is  imper- 
fectly known. 

No.  27, 
So  shell  the  Power  in  vengeance  view  the  fd 
In  crimson  cloth?  kia  terror  beaming  face. 

Book  III.  Line  ■'. 

It  is  natural  for  the  worshippers  of  the  sun  to  con- 
sider any  change  in  the  atmosphere  as  indicative  of 
the  different  passions  of  their  deity.  With  the  Peru- 
vians a  sanguine  appearance  in  the  sun  denoted  his 
anger. 

No.  28. 
Thro  all  the  shrines^  where  erst  on  new-moon  dc 
Swell9  d  the  full  quires  of  consecrated  firaise, 

Book  III.  Line 

New-moon  days  were  days  of  high  festival  with 
the  Incas,  according  to  Garcilasso.  Eclipses  of  the  sun 
must  therefore  have  happened  on  solemn  days  and 
have  interrupted  the  service  of  the  temple. 


NOTE*  COLUMBIAN.  ^46 

No.  29. 
Las  Casas.    Valvcrdc.   Gasca. 

Btt  k  IV.  Line  17—27. 

Bartholomew  de  las  Casas  was  a  dominican  priest 
of  a  most  amiable  and  heroic  character.  He  first  went 
to  Hispaniola  with  Columbus  in  his  second  voyage, 
where  he  manifested  an  ardent  but  honest  zeal,  first 
in  attempting  to  instruct  the  natives  in  the  principles 
of  the  catholic  faith  and  afterwards  in  defending  them 
against  the  insufferable  cruelties  exercised  by  the 
Spanish  tyrants  who  succeeded  Columbus  in  the  dis- 
coveries and  settlements  in  South  America.  He  early 
declared  himself  Protector  of  the  Indians;  a  title  which 
seems  to  have  been  acknowledged  by  the  Spanish  go- 
vernment. He  devoted  himself  ever  after  to  the  most 
indefatigable  labors  in  the  service  of  that  unhappy  peo- 
ple. He  made  several  voyages  to  Spain  to  solicit,  first 
from  Ferdinand,  then  from  cardinal  Ximines  and 
finally  from  Charles  V,  some  effectual  restrictions 
against  the  horrid  career  of  depopulation  which  every 
where  attended  the  Spanish  arms.  He  followed  these 
monsters  of  cruelty  into  all  the  conquered  countries ; 
where,  by  the  power  of  his  eloquence  and  that  purity 
of  morals  which  commands  respect  even  from  the 
worst  of  men,  he  doubtless  saved  the  lives  of  many 
thousands  of  innocent  people.  His  life  was  a  continued 
struggle  against  that  deplorable  system  of  tyranny,  of 
which  he  gives  a  description  in  a  treatise  addressed  to 
Philip  prince  of  Spain,  entitled  Brevissima  Relacion  de 
la  Destruyclon  de.las  Yndias. 

It  is  said  by  the  Spanish  writers  that  the  inhabitants 

X2 


246  COLUMBIA!!.  JiO 

of  Hispaniola,  when  first  discovered  by  the  Spaniards- 
amounted  to  more  than  one  million.  This  incredible 
population  was  reduced  in  fifteen  years  to  sixty  thou- 
sand souls. 

Vincent  Valvcrde  was  a  fanatical  priest  who  accom- 
panied Pizarro  in  his  destructive  expedition  to  Peru. 
If  we  were  to  search  the  history  of  mankind  we  should 
not  find  another  such  example  of  the  united  efforts  of 
ecclesiastical  hypocrisy  and  military  ferocity,  of  unre- 
sisted murder  and  insatiable  plunder,  as  we  meet  with 
in  the  account  of  this  expedition. 

Father  Valverde  in  a  formal  manner  gave  the 
sanction  of  the  church  to  the  treacherous  murder  of 
Atabalipa  and  his  relations;  which  was  immediately 
followed  by  the  destruction  and  almost  entire  depopu- 
lation of  a  flourishing  empire. 

Pedro  de  la  Gasca  was  one  of  the  few  men  whose 
virtues  form  a  singular  contrast  with  the  vices  which 
disgraced  the  age  in  which  he  lived  and  the  country  in. 
which  he  acquired  his  glory.  He  was  sent  over  to  Pe- 
ru by  Charles  V  without  any  military  force,  to  quell 
die  rebellion  of  the  younger  Fizarro  and  to  prevent  a 
second  depopulation,  by  a  civil  war,  of  that  country 
rrhich  had  just  been  drenched  in  the  blood  of  its  ori- 
ginal inhabitants.  He  effected  this  great  purpose  by 
i  he  weight  only  of  his  personal  authority  and  the  ve- 
neration inspired  by  his  virtues.  As  soon  as  he  had 
suppressed  the  rebellion  and  established  the  govern- 
ment of  the  colony  he  hastened  to  resign  his  authority 
into  the  hands  of  his  master.  And  tho  his  victories 
ben  obtained  in  the  richest  country  on  earth  hr' 


VTTi  COLUMBIA!*  24? 

returned  to  Spain  as  poor  as  Cincinnatus;  farting  re- 
sisted every  temptation  to  plunder  and  refused  to  re~ 
*rive  any  emolument  for  his  services. 

No.  30. 
First  of  his  friends^  see  Fredericks  princely  fori n 
Ward  from  the  sage  divine  the  gathering  storm; 
I  Book  IV.  Line  1 57. 

Frederic  of  Saxony,  surnamed  the  Wise,  was  the 
first  sovereign  prince  who  favored  the  doctrines  of 
Luther.  He  became  at  once  his  pupil  and  his  patron, 
defended  him  from  the  persecutions  of  the  pope  and 
gave  him  an  establishment  as  professor  in  the  univer- 
sity of  Wittemburgh. 

No.  31. 
By  all  sectarian  chiefs  he  lives  approved. 
By  monarchs  courted  and  by  men  beloved. 

Book  IV.  Line  10J. 
Francis  I,  out  of  respect  to  the  great  learning  and 
moderation  of  Melancthon,  and  disregarding  the  pre- 
tended danger  of  discussing  the  dogmas  of  the  church, 
invited  him  to  come  to  France  and  establish  himself  at 
Paris ;  but  the  intrigues  of  the  cardinal  de  Tournon 
frustrated  the  king's  intention. 

If  every  leader  of  religious  sects  had  possessed  the 
amiable  qualities  of  Melancthon  and  every  monarch 
who  wished  to  oppose  the  introduction  of  new  opin- 
ions had  partaken  of  the  wisdom  of  Francis,  the  blood 
of  many  hundreds  of  millions  of  the  human  species, 
has  flowetj  at  the  shrine  of  fanaticism,  would 


2^8  COLUMBIAD.  NOTES. 

have  been  spared.  This  circumstance  alone  would 
have  made  of  human  society  by  this  time  a  state  to- 
tally different  from  what  we  actually  experience ;  and 
its  influence  on  the  progress  of  improvement  in  na- 
tional happiness  and  general  civilization  must  have 
been  beyond  our  ordinary  calculation. 

No.  32. 
While  kings  and  ministers  obstruct  the  filany 
Unfaithful  guardians  of  the  weal  of  man. 

Book  IV.  Line  529. 

The  British  colonies  in  all  their  early  struggles 
for  existence  complained,  and  with  reason,  of  the  uni- 
form indifference  and  discouragement  which  they  ex- 
perienced from  the  government  of  the  mother  coun- 
try. But  it  was  probably  to  that  very  indifference  that 
they  owed  the  remarkable  spirit  of  liberty  and  self 
dependence  which  created  their  prosperity,  by  indu- 
cing them  uniformly  to  adopt  republican  institutions. 
These  circumstances  prepared  the  way  for  that  mu- 
tual confidence  and  federal  union  which  have  finally 
formed  them  into  a  flourishing  nation. 

Ministers  who  feel  their  power  over  a  distant  co- 
lony to  be  uncontrolled  are  so  naturally  inclined  to 
govern  too  much,  that  it  may  be  a  fortunate  circum- 
stance for  the  colony  to  be  neglected  altogether.  This 
neglect  was  indeed  fatal  to  the  first  Virginia  settlers 
sent  out  by  sir  Walter  Raleigh;  and  the  companies 
who  afterwards  succeeded  in  their  establishments  at 
Jamestown  in  Virginia  and  at  Plymouth  in  Massa- 
chusetts were  very  near  sharing  the  fate  of  their  pre- 


Wl  .'  COLUMBIAD.  249 

I 

dcccssors.  But  after   these   settlements  had  acquired 

much  consistence  as  to  assure  their  own  continuance, 

e  assumed  as  an  historical  fact,  that  the  want 

<>f  encouragement  from  government  was  rather  benefi- 

I  than  detrimental  to  the  British  colonies  in  general. 

These  establishments  were  in  the  nature  of  private 

adventures,  undertaken  by  a  few  individuals  at  their 

own  expense,   rather  than   organized   colonies    sent 

abroad  for  a  public  purpose.    They  were   companies 

incorporated  for  plantation  and  trade.    All  they  asked 

of  the  mother  country  (after  obtaining  acts  of  incorpora^ 

tion  enabling  them  to  acquire  property  and  exercise 

other  civil  functions,  such  as  incorporated  companies 

at  home  could  exercise)  was  to  give  them  charters  o£ 

political  franchise,  ascertaining  the  extent  and  limits  of 

their  rights  and  duties  as  subjects  of  the  British  crown 

forming  nations  in  parts  of  the  earth  that  had  been 

found  in  an  uncultivated  state  and  far  removed  from 

the  mother  country. 

As  they  could  not  in  this  situation  be  represented 
in  the  parliament  of  England,  these  charters  stipulat- 
ed their  right  of  having  parliaments  or  legislative 
assemblies  of  their  own,  with  executive  and  judiciary 
institutions  established  within  their  territories. 

The  acknowledgment  of  these  rights  placed  them 
on  a  different  footing  from  any  other  modern  colonies: 
and  the  restricting  clause,  by  which  their  trade  was 
confined  to  the  mother  country,  rendered  their  situation 
unlike  that  of  the  colonies  of  ancient  Greece.  Indeed 
the  British  system  of  colonization  in  America  differed 
essentially  from  every    other,    whether  ancient  or 


250  columbiad.  notes. 

modern;  if  that  may  properly  be  called  a  system, 
which  was  rather  the  result  of  early  indifference  to 
the  cries  of  n.eedy  adventurers,  and  subsequent  at- 
tempts to  seize  upon  their  earnings  when  they  became 
objects  of  rapacity.  This  singular  train  of  difficulties 
must  be  considered  as  one  of  the  causes  of  our  ancient 
prosperity  and  present  freedom. 

No.  33. 

Where  Freedom's  sons  their  high  born  lineage  trace 

And  homebred  bravery  still  exalts  the  race: 

Book  V.  Line  345. 

The  author  of  this  poem  will  not  be  suspected  of 
laying  any  stress  on  the  mere  circumstance  of  lineage 
or  birth,  as  relating  either  to  families  or  nations.  The 
phrase  however  in  the  text  is  not  without  its  meaning, 
Among  the  colonies  derived  from  the  several  nations 
of  Europe  in  modern  times,  those  from  the  English 
have  flourished  far  better  than  the  others,  under  a 
parity  of  circum stances,  such  as  climate,  soil  and  pro- 
ductions. The  reason  of  this  undeniable  fact  deserves 
to  be  expldned. 

Colonies  naturally  carry  with  them  the  civil,  politi- 
cal and  religious  institutions  of  their  mother  countries. 
These  institutions  in  England  are  much  more  favora- 
ble to  liberty  and  the  development  of  industry  than  in 
any  other  part  of  Europe  which  has  sent  colonies 
abroad.  But  this  is  not  all:  when  men  for  several  gene- 
rations m-.v-  {.-en  bred  up  in  the  habit  of  feeling  and 
exercising  such  a  portion  of  liberty  as  the  English 
Bation  has  enjoyed,  their  minds  are  prepared  tp  opeA 


NOTES.  COLUMBIA!).  251 

and  expand  themselves  as  occasion  may  offer.  They 
are  able  to  embrace  new  circumstances,  to  perceive 
the  improvements  that  may  be  drawn  from  them,  and 
not  only  make  a  temperate  use  of  that  portion  of  self- 
control  to  which  they  are  accustomed,  but  devise  the 
means  of  extending  it  to  other  objects  of  their  politi- 
cal relations,  till  they  become  familiar  with  all  the  in- 
terests of  men  in  society. 

The  habitual  use  of  the  liberty  of  the  press,  of  trial 
by  jury  in  open  court,  of  the  accountability  of  public 
agents  and  of  some  voice  in  the  election  of  legislators, 
must  create,  in  a  man  or  a  nation,  a  character  quite 
different  from  what  it  could  be  under  the  habitual 
disuse  of  these  advantages.  And  when  these  habits 
are  transplanted  with  a  young  colony  to  a  distant 
region  of  the  earth,  enjoying  a  good  soil  and  climate, 
with  an  unlimited  and  unoccupied  country,  the  differ- 
ence will  necessarily  be  more  remarkable. 

A  most  striking  illustration  of  this  principle  is 
exTiibited  in  the  colonies  of  North  America.  This 
coast,  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Missisippi,  was 
colonized  by  the  French  and  English.  (I  make  no 
account  of  the  Dutch  establishment  on  the  Hudson 
nor  of  the  Swedish  on  the  Delaware;  they  being  of 
little  importance  and  early  absorbed  in  the  English 
settlements.)  If  we  look  back  only  one  hundred  years 
from  the  present  time,  we  find  the  Frei  ch  and  English 
dominions  here  about  equally  important  in  point  of 
extent  and  population.  The  French  Canada,  Acadia, 
Cape  Breton,  Newfoundland,  Florida  and  Louisiana 


252  COLUMBIAD.  NOTES. 

were  then  as  far  advanced  in  improvement  as  the  En- 
glish settlements  which  they  flanked  on  each  side. 
And  the  French  had  greatly  the  advantage  in  point 
of  soil,  interior  navigation  and  capability  of  extension. 
They  commanded  and  possessed  the  two  great  rivers 
which  almost  met  together  on  the  English  frontier. 
And  the  space  between  the  waters  of  those  rivers  on 
the  west  was  planted  with  French  military  posts,  so  as 
to  complete  the  investment. 

New  Orleans  was  begun  before  Philadelphia  and 
was  much  better  situated  to  become  a  great  commer- 
cial capital.  Quebec  and  Montreal  were  older,  and  had 
the  advantage  of  most  of  our  other  cities.  Add  to  this 
that  the  French  nation  at  home  was  about  twice  as 
populous  as  the  English  nation  at  home;  and  as  that 
part  of  the  increase  of  colonial  population  which  comes 
from  emigration  must  naturally  be  derived  from  their 
respective  mother  countries,  it  might  have  been  expect- 
ed that  the  comparative  rapidity  of  increase  wouldhave 
been  in  favor  of  the  French  at  least  two  to  one. 

But  the  French  colonists  had  not  been  habituated 
to  the  use  of  liberty  before  their  emigration:  and  they 
were  not  prepared  nor  permitted  to  enjoy  it  in  any 
degree  afterwards.  Their  laws  were  made  for  them 
in  their  mother  country,  by  men  who  could  not  know 
their  wants  and  who  felt  no  interest  in  their  prosperity; 
and  then  they'were  administered  by  a  set  of  agents  as 
ant  as  their  masters;  men  who,  from  the  nature 
of  tneir  employment  and  accountability,  must  in 
general  be  oppressive  and  rapaci- 


NOi  COLUMBIA!)  253 

The  result  has  solved  a  great  problem  in  political 
combination.  One  of  these  clusters  of  colonies  has  grown 
to  a  powerful  empire,  giving  examples  to  the  universe 
in  most  of  the  great  objects  which  constitute  the 
dignity  of  nations.  The  other,  after  having  been 
a  constant  expense  to  the  mother  country  and 
serving  for  barter  and  exchange  in  the  capricious 
vicissitudes  of  European  despotism,  presents  alto- 
gether at  this  day  a  mass  of  population  and  wrealth 
scarcely  equal  to  one  of  our  provinces. 

This  note  is  written  at  the  moment  wrhen  Loui- 
siana, one  of  the  most  extensive  but  least  peopled  of 
the  French  colonies,  is  ceded  to  the  United  States. 
The  world  will  see  how  far  the  above  theory  will  now  be 
confirmed  by  the  rapid  increase  of  population  and  im- 
provement in  that  interesting  portion  of  our  continent, 

No.  34. 
Beneath  him  lay  the  scejitre  kings  had  borne 
And  the  tame  thunder  from  the  temjiest  torn* 

Book  V.  Line  429 
Eripuit  coclo  fulmen,  sceptrumque  tyrannis. 
This  epigraph,  written  by  Turgot  on  the  bust  of 
Franklin,  seems  to  have  been  imitated  from  a  iine  in 
Manilius;  where  noticing  the  progress  of  science  in 
ascribing  things  to  their  natural  and  proper  causes 
instead  of  supernatural  ones,  he  says, 

Eripuit  Jovi  fulmen,  viresque  tonandi, 
Et  sonitum  ventis  concessit,  nubibus  ignem. 
Vol.  I.  Y 


254  COLUMBIA!").  XOTFi? 

No.  35. 
And  Knox  from  his  fell  park  to  battle  brings 
His  brazen  tubes^  the  lust  resort  of  kings. 

Book  V.  Line  CG5. 

Ultima  ratio  regvm:  a  device  of  Louis  XIV, 
engraved  on  his  ordnance,  and  afterwards  adopted  by- 
other  powers.  When  we  consider  men  as  reasonable 
beings  and  endowed  with  the  qualities  requisite  for 
living  together  in  society,  this  device  looks  like  a  satire 
upon  the  species;  but  in  reality  it  only  proves  the  im- 
perfect state  to  which  their  own  principles  of  society 
have  yet  advanced  them  in  the  long  and  perhaps  inter- 
minable progress  of  which  they  are  susceptible.  This 
ultima  ratio  being  already  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  in- 
dividuals and  confided  only  to  the  chiefs  of  nations  is  as 
clear  a  proof  of  a  great  progress  already  made,  as  its 
remaining  in  the  hands  of  those  chiefs  is  a  proof  that 
we  still  remain  far  short  of  that  degree  of  wisdom  and 
experience  which  will  enable  all  the  nations  to  live  at 
peace  one  with  another. 

There  certainly  was  a  time  when  the  same  device 
might  have  been  written  on  the  hatchet  or  club  or 
fist  of  every  man ;  and  the  best  weapon  of  destruction 
that  he  could  wield  against  his  neighbor  might  have 
been  called  ultima  ratio  virorum9  meaning  that  human 
reason  could  go  no  farther.  But  the  wisdom  we  have 
drawn  from  experience  has  taught  us  to  restrain  the 
use  of  mortal  weapons,  making  it  unlawful  and  show- 
ing it  to  be  unreasonable  to  use  them  in  private  dis- 
putes.   The  principles  of  social  intercourse  and  the 


NOTES.  COLUMBIAN.  255 

% 

advantages  of  peace  arc  so  far  understood  as  to  enable 
men  to  form  great  societies  and  to  submit  their  per- 
sonal misunderstandings  to  common  judges;  thus  re- 
moving the  ultima  ratio  from  their  own  private  hands 
to  the  hands  of  their  government. 

Hitherto  there  has  usually  been  a  government  fc> 
every  nation ;  but  the  nations  are  increasing  in  size 
and  diminishing  in  number ;  so  that  the  hands  which 
ir  hold  the  ultima  ratio  by  delegation  are  few,  com- 
pared with  what  they  have  been.  I  mean  this  observa 
tion  to  apply  only  to  those  extensions  of  nationality  "which 
have  been  formed  on  the  true  principles  of  society  and 
acquiesced  in  from  a  sense  of  their  utility.  I  mean  not 
to  apply  it  to  those  unnatural  and  unwieldy  stretches 
of  power,  whose  overthrow-  is  often  and  erroneously 
cited  as  an  argument  against  the  progress  of  civiliza- 
tion ;  such  as  the  conquests  of  Alexander,  the  Roman 
generals,  Omar,  Gengis  Khan  and  others  of  that  bril- 
liant description.  These  are  but  meteors  of  compul- 
sive force,  which  pass  away  and  discourage,  rather 
than  promote,  the  spirit  of  national  extension  of  which 
I  speak. 

This  spirit  operates  constantly  and  kindly;  nor  is 
its  progress  so  slow  but  that  it  is  easily  perceived. 
Even  within  the  short  memorials  cf  modern  history 
we  find  a  heptarchy  in  England.  Ossian  informs  us 
that  in  his  time  there  was  a  great  number  of  warlike 
states  in  Ireland  and  as  many  more  in  Scotland.  With- 
out going  back  to  the  writings  of  Julius  Cesar  to  dis- 
cover the  comparative  condition  of  France?  we  may 


256  COLUMBIAN.  NCH 

almost  remember  when  she  counted  within  her  limits 
six  or  seven  different  governments,  generally  at  war 
among  themselves  and  inviting  foreign  enemies  to 
come  and  help  them  destroy  each  other.  Every  pro- 
vince in  Spain  is  stiil  called  a  kingdom ;  and  it  is  not 
long  since  they  were  really  so  in  fact,  with  the  ultima 
ratio  in  the  hands  of  every  king. 

The  publicist  who  in  any  of  those  modern  heroic 
ages  could  have  imagined  that  all  the  hundred  nations 
who  inhabited  the  western  borders  of  Europe,  from 
the  Orknies  to  Gibraltar,  might  one  day  become  so 
far  united  in  manners  and  interests  as  to  form  but 
three  great  nations,  would  certainly  have  passed  for  a 
madman.  Had  he  been  a  minister  of  Pharamond  or  of 
Fingal  he  could  no  more  have  kept  his  place  than 
Turgot  could  keep  his  after  pointing  out  the  means 
of  promoting  industry  and  preventing  wars.  He  would 
have  been  told  that  the  inhabitants  of  each  side  of  the 
Humber  were  natural  enemies  one  to  the  other;  that 
if  their  chiefs  were  even  disposed  to  live  in  peace  they 
could  not  do  it;  their  subjects  would  demand  war  and 
could  not  live  without  it.  The  same  would  have  been 
said  of  the  Seine,  the  Loire  and  every  other  dividing 
line  between  their  petty  communities.  It  would  have 
been  insisted  on  that  such  rivers  were  the  natural 
boundaries  of  states  and  never  could  be  otherwise. 

But  now,  since  the  people  of  those  districts  find 
themselves  no  longer  on  the  frontiers  of  little  warlike 
states,  but  in  the  centre  of  great  industrious  nations, 
they  have  lost  their  relish  for  war  and  consider  it  as  a 


NOTES.  i  MBIAD.  257\ 

terrible  calamity.  They  cherish  the  minister  who  gives 
Them  peace  and  abhor  the  one  who  drives  them  into 
unnecessary  wars.  Their  local  disputes,  which  usedto 
be  settled  by  the  sword,  are  now  referred  to  the  tribu- 
nals of  the  country.  They  have  substituted  a  moral  to 
a  physical  force.  They  have  changed  the  habits  of 
plunder  for  those  of  industry;  and  they  find  themselves 
richer  and  happier  for  the  change. 

Who  will  say  that  the  progress  of  society  will  stop 
short  in  the  present  stage  of  its  career?  that  great 
communities  will  not  discover  a  mode  of  arbitrating 
their  disputes,  as  little  ones  have  done?  that  nations 
.•ill  not  lay  aside  their  present  ideas  of  independence 
and  rivalship  and  find  themselves  more  happy  and 
more  secure  in  one  great  universal  society,  which  shall 
contain  within  itself  its  own  principles  of  defence,  its 
own  permanent  security?  It  is  evident  that  national 
security,  in  order  to  be  permanent,  must  be  founded 
on  the  moral  force  of  society  at  large,  and  not  on  the 
physical  force  of  each  nation  independently  exerted. 
The  ultima  ratio  must  not  be  a  cannon,  but  a  reference 
to  some  rational  mode  of  decision  worthy  of  rational 
beings.    • 

No.  36. 
Else  what  high  tones  ofrajiture  mast  have  told 
The  first  great  action  of  a  chief  so  bold! 

Book  V.  Line  707. 

General  Arnold,  the  leader  of  this  detachment,  had 
acquired  by  thi*  and  many  other   brilliant  achieve- 


258  COLUMBIAD.  NOTES. 

ments  a  degree  of  military  fame  almost  unequalled 
among  the  American  generals.  His  shameful  defec- 
tion afterwards,  by  the  foulest  of  treason,  should  be 
lamented  as  a  national  dishonor;  it  has  not  only  obli- 
terated his  own  glory, but  it  seems  in  some  sort  to  have 
cast  a  shade  on  that  of  others  whose  brave  actions  had 
been  associated  with  his  in  the  acquisition  of  their  com- 
mon and  unadulterated  fame. 

The  action  here  alluded  to,  the  march  thro  the 
wilderness  from  Casco  to  Quebec,  was  compared  in 
the  gazettes  of  that  day  to  the  passage  of  the  Alps  by 
Hannibal.  And  really,  considered  as  a  scene  of  true 
military  valor,  patient  suffering  and  heroic  exertion 
(detached  from  the  idea  of  subsequent  success  in  the 
ulterior  expedition)  the  comparison  did  not  disgrace 
the  Carthaginian.  Yet  since  the  defection  of  Arnold, 
which  happened  five  years  afterwards,  this  audacious 
and  once  celebrated  exploit  is  scarcely  mentioned  in 
our  annals.  And  Meigs,  Dearborn,  Morgan  and  other 
distinguished  officers  in  the  expedition,  whom  that 
alone  might  have  immortalized,  have  been  indebted 
to  their  subsequent  exertions  of  patriotic  valor  for  the 
share  of  celebrity  their  names  now  enjoy. 

See  the  character  of  Arnold  treated  more  at  large 
in  the  sixth  book. 


riiK 

COLUMBIA!) 

A  POEM. 

BY  JOEL  BARLOY 
IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 


Tu  spiegherai,  Colombo,  a  un  novo  polo 
Lontane  si  le  fortunate  antenne, 
Ch'a  pena  seguira  con  gli  occhi  il  volo 
La  Fama,  ch'  ha  mille  occhi  e  mille  penae 
Canti  ella  Alcide,  e  Bacco;  e  di  to  solo 
Basti  a  i  posteri  tuoi,  ch'  alqixanto  accenne: 
The  quel  poco  dara  lunga  memoria 
Di  poema  degnissinia,  e  d'istoria. 

Gierus.  Lib.  Can  xv 


VOL.  II. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

Published  by  C.  and  A.  Conrad  and  Co.  Philadelphia;  ConPa 
Lucas  and  Co.  Baltimore. 

Fey  and  Kammerer,  Printer0 

1  809, 


District  of  Pennsylvania,  to  wit: 
J* *      BE  IT  REMEMBERED,  That  on  the  twenty-fourth 

*  SEAL.  J   day  of  December,  in  the  thirty-second  year  of  the  inde- 
«   pendence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  A.  D.  1807, 
C.  and  A.  Conrad  and  Co.  of  the  said  district,  have  de- 
posited in  this  office  the  title  of  a  book  the  right  whereof  they  claim 
as  proprietors  in  the  words  following,  to  wit: 

"THE  COLUMBIAD  A  POEM.  BY  JOEL  BARLOW.'* 
In  conformity  to  the  act  of  the  congress  of  the  United  States,  in- 
tituled "  An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the 
copies  of  maps,  charts,  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of 
such  copies  during  the  times  therein  mentioned."  And  also  to  the 
act  entitled  "An  act  supplementary  to  an  act  entitled  'An  act  for  the 
encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps,  charts, 
and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies  during  the 
times  therein  mentioned,'  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the 
arts  of  designing,  engraving  and  etching  historical  and  other  prints." 

D.  CALDWELL, 

oart. 


THE 


COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  VI. 


ARGUMENT. 

British  cruelty  to  American  prisoners.  Prison  Ship 
eat  of  Washington  with  the  relics  of  his  army,  pur 

;  by  Howe.  Washington  recrossing  the  Delaware  in 
the  night,  to  surprise  the  British  van,  is  opposed  by  un- 
common obstacles.  His  success  in  this  audacious  enter- 
prise lays  the  foundation  of  the  American  empire.  A 
monument  to  be  erected  on  the  bank  uf  the  Delaware. 
Approach  of  Burgoyne,  sailing  up  the  St.  Laurence  with 
an  army  of  Britons  and  various  other  nations.  Indignant 
energy  of  the  colonies,  compared  to  that  of  Greece  in 
opposing  the  invasion  of  Xerxes.  Formation  of  an  army 
of  citizens  under  the  command  of  Gates.  Review  of  the 
American  and  Jritish  armies,  and  of  the  savage  tribes 
who  join  the  British  standard.  Battle  of  Saratoga.  Story 
of  Lucinda.  Second  battle-  and  capture  of  Burgoyne  and 
my; 


THE 

COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  VI. 

Jjut  of  all  tales  that  Avar's  black  annals  holo 
The  darkest,  foulest  still  remains  untold; 
New  modes  of  torture  wait  the  shameful  strife. 
And  Britain  wantons  in  the  waste  of  life. 

Cold-blooded  Cruelty,  first  fiend  of  hell, 
Ah  think  no  more  with  savage  hordes  to  dwell: 
Quit  the  Caribian  tribes  who  eat  their  slain, 
Fly  that  grim  gang,  the  Inquisitors  of  Spain, 
Boast  not  thy  deeds  in  Moloch's  shrines  of  old, 
Leave  Barbary's  pirates  to  their  blood-bought  gold* 
Let  Holland  steal  her  victims,  force  them  o'er  " 
To  toils  and  death  on  Java's  morbid  shore; 
Some  cloke,  some  color  all  these  crimes  may  plead; 
varice,  passion,  blind  religion's  deed; 


o  UMBIAD.  BOOK  VI 

But  Britons  here,  in  this  fraternal  broil, 
Grave,  cool,  deliberate  in  thy  service  toil. 
Far  from  the  nation's  eye,  whose  nobler  soul 
Their  wars  would  humanize,  their  pride  control, 
They  lose  the  lessons  that  her  laws  impart 
And  change  the  British  for  the  brutal  heart, 
Fired  by  no  passion,  madden'd  by  no  zeal, 
No  priest,  no  Plutus  bids  them  not  to  feel: 
Unpaid,  gratuitous,  on  torture  bent, 
Their  sport  is  death,  their  pastime  to  torment, 
x\ll  other  gods  they  scorn,  but  bow  the  knee, 
And  curb,  well  pleased,  O  Cruelty,  to  thee. 

Come  then,  curst  goddess,  where  thy  votaries  reign, 
Inhale  their  incense  from  the  land  and  main; 
Come  to  Newyork,  their  conquering  arms  to  greet, 
Brood  o'er  their  camp  and  breathe  along  their  fleet; 
The  brother  chiefs  of  Howe's  illustrious  name 
Demand  thy  labors  to  complete  their  fame. 
What  shrieks  of  agony  thy  praises  sound ! 
What  gratcless  dungeons  groan  beneath  the  ground ! 
See  the  black 67  Prison  Ship's  expanding  womb 
Impested  thousands,  quick  and  dead,  entomb. 
Barks  after  barks  the  captured  seamen  bear, 
Transboai  lent  victims  there; 


\l  CQLUMBIAD  T 

A  hundred  scows,  from  all  the  neighboring  shore, 
Spread  the  dull  sail  and  ply  the  constant  oar,  4<* 

Waft  wrecks  of  armies  from  the  well  fought  field. 
And  famisht  garrisons  who  bravely  yield; 
They  mount  the  hulk,  and,  cramm'd  within  the  cave 
Hail  their  last  house,  their  living  floating  grave. 

She  comes,  the  fiend!  her  grinning  jaws  expand. 
Her  brazen  eyes  cast  lightning  o'er  the  strand, 
Her  wings  like  thunder-clouds  the  welkin  sweep, 
Brush  the  tall  spires  and  shade  the  shuddering  deep; 
She  gains  the  deck,  displays  her  wonted  store, 
Her  cords  and  scourges  wet  with  prisoners'  gore;        50 
Gripes,  pincers,  thumb-screws  spread  beneath  her  feet. 
Slow  poisonous  drugs  and  loads  of  putrid  meat; 
Disease  hangs  drizzling  from  her  slimy  locks, 
And  hot  contagion  issues  from  her  box. 

O'er  the  closed  hatches  ere  she  takes  her  place. 
She  moves  the  massy  planks  a  little  space, 
Opes  a  small  passage  to  the  cries  below 
That  feast  her  soul  on  messages  of  wo; 
There  sits  with  gaping  ear  and  changeless  eye, 
Drinks  every  groan  and  treasures  every  sigh, 
Sustains  the  faint,  their  miseries  to  prolongs 
Revives  the  dying  and  unnerves  the  st 


$  COLUMBIA!).  BOOK  Yf 

But  as  the  infected  mass  resign  their  breath. 
She  keeps  witl  register  of  death. 

As  tost  thro  ]  from  the  encumber'd  cave,    ' 

Corpse  at  e  fall  dashing  in  the  wave; 

Corpse  ai  i     corpse,  for  days  and  months  and  years, 
The  tide  bears  off,  ana  sti     kb  current  clears; 
At  last,  o'erloaded  with  the  putrid  gore, 
The  slime-clad  Waters  thicken  round  the  shore. 
Green  Ocean's  self,  that  oft  his  wave  renews, 
That  drinks  whole  fleets  with  all  their  slaughtered  crews. 
That  laves,  that  purifies  the  earth  and  sky> 
Yet  ne'er  before  resign'd  his  natural  dye. 
Here  purples,  blushes  for  the  race  he  bore 
To  rob  and  ravage  this  unconquer'd  shore; 
The  scaly  nations,  as  they  travel  by, 
Catch  the  contagion,  sicken,  gasp  and  die. 

Now  Hesper  turns  the  Hero's  tearful  eye 
To  other  fields  where  other  standards  fly; 
For  here  constraint  new  warfare  to  disclose 
And  show  the  feats  of  more  than  mortal  foes^ 
Where  interposing  with  celestial  might, 
His  own  dread  labors  must  decide  the  fight. 
He  bids  the  scene  with  pomp  unusual  rise 
:;ch  Columbus  how  to  read  the  skie<? 


HOOK  \  f  0LUMB1AD.  9 

He  marks  the  trace  of  Howe's  triumphant  course 
Vnd  wheels  o'er  Jersey  plains  his  gathering  force; 

V 

Where  dauntless  Washington  begirt  with  foes 
Still  greater  rises  as  the  danger  grows,  90 

\nd  wearied  troops,  o'er  kindred  warriors  slain, 
Attend  his  march  thro  many  a  sanguine  plain. 

From  Hudson's  bank  to  Trenton's  wintry  strand 
He  guards  in  firm  retreat  his  feeble  band; 
Britons  by  thousands  on  his  flanks  advance, 
Bend  o'er  his  rear  and  point  the  lifted  lance. 
Fast  Delaware's  frozen  stream,  with  scanty  force, 
He  checks  retreat;  then  turning  back  his  course, 
Remounts  the  wave  and  thro  the  mingled  roar 
Of  ice  and  storm  reseeks  the  hostile  shore,  100 

Wrapt  in  the  gloom  of  night.  The  offended  Flood 
Starts  from  his  cave,  assumes  the  indignant  god, 
Hears  thro  the  parting  tide  his  foamy  form 
And  with  his  fiery  eyeballs  lights  the  storm. 
He  stares  around  him  on  the  host  he  heard, 

rs  his  choked  urn,  and  smooths  his  icy  beard 
And  thus:  Audacious  chief,  this  troubled  wave 
Tempt  not;  or  tempting,  here  shall  gape  thy  grave      , 
Is  nothing  sacred  to  thy  venturous  might? 
The  howling  storm,  the  holy  truce  of  night,  HO 


10  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  VJ 

High  tossing  ice-isVes  crashing  round  thy  side, 
Insidious  rocks  that  pierce  the  tumbling  tide? 
Fear  then  this  forceful  ami,  and  hear  once  more, 
Death  stands  between  thee  and  that  shelvy  shore. 

The  chief  beholds  the  god  and  notes  his  cry, 
"But  onward  drives  nor  pauses  to  reply; 
Calls  to  each  bark  and  spirits  every  host 
To  toil,  gain,  tempt  the  interdicted  coast. 
The  crews,  regardless  of  the  doubling  roar, 
Breast  the  strong  helm'and  wrestle  with  the  oar. 

Stem  with  resurgent  prow  the  struggling  spray 

D 
And  w7ith  phosphoric  lanterns  shape  their  way. 

The  god  perceived  his  warning  words  were  vain, 
And  rose  more  furious  to  assert  his  reign, 
Lasht  up  a  loftier  surge  and  heaved  on  high 
A  ridge  of  billows  that  obstruct  the  sky; 
And,  as  the  accumulated  mass  he  rolls, 
Bares  the  sharp  rocks  and  lifts  the  gaping  shoals. 
Forward  the  fearless  barges  plunge  and  bound, 
Top  the  cuiTd  wave  or  grind  the  flinty  ground,  1  SO 

Careen,  whirl,  right,  and  sidelong  dasht  and  tost, 
Now  seem  to  reach  and  now  to  lose  the  coast. 

Still  unsubdued  the  sea-drencht  army  toils, 
Each  buoyant  skiff  the  flouncing  godhead  foils; 


BOOK  VI  COLUMBIAD  U 

He  raves  and  roars  and  in  delirious  wo 

Calls  to  his  aid  his  ancient  hoary  foe, 

Almighty  Frost;  when  thus  the  vanquisht  Flood 

Bespeaks  in  haste  the  great  earth-rending  god: 

Father  of  storms!  behold  this  mortal  race 

Confound  my  force  and  brave  me  to  my  face.  140 

Not  all  my  waves  by  all  my  tempests  driven 

Nor  black  night  brooding  o'er  the  starless  heaven 

Can  check  their  course;  they  toss  and  plunge  amain, 

And  lo  my  guardian  rocks  project  their  points  in  vain. 

Come  to  my  help,  and  with  thy  stiffening  breath 
Clog  their  strain'd  helms,  distend  their  limbs  in  death, 
Tho  ancient  enmity  our  realms  divide, 
And  oft  thy  chains  arrest  my  laboring  tide, 
Let  strong  necessity  our  cause  combine, 
Thy  own  disgrace  anticipate  in  mine;  150 

Even  now  their  oars  thy  sleet  in  vain  congeals, 
Thy  crumbling  ice-cakes  crash  beneath  their  keels. 
Their  impious  arms  already  cope  with  ours, 
And  mortal  man  defies  immortal  Powers. 

Roused  at  the  call,  the  monarch  mounts  the  storm; 
In  muriat  flakes  he  robes  his  nitrous  form, 
Glares  thro  the  all  its  blast  inhales, 

And  seas  turn  he  breathes  his  gales. 


12  COLUxMBIAD.  BOOK  VI. 

He  comes  careering  o'er  his  bleak  domain, 

But  comes  untended  by  his  usual  train;  160 

Hail,  sleet  and  snow-rack  far  behind  him  fly, 

Too  weak  to  wade  thro  this  petrific  sky, 

Whose  air  consolidates  and  cuts  and  stings, 

And  shakes  hoar  tinsel  from  its  flickering  wings. 

Earth  heaves  and  cracks  beneath  the  alighting  god; 

He  gains  the  pass,  bestrides  the  roaring  flood, 

Shoots  from  his  nostrils  one  wide  withering  sheet 

Of  treasured  meteors  on  the  struggling  fleet; 

The  waves  conglaciate  instant,  fix  in  air, 

Stand  like  a  ridge  of  rocks  and  shiver  there. 

The  barks  confounded  in  their  headlong  surge 

Or  wedged  in  crystal  cease  their  oars  to  urge; 

Some  with  prone  prow,  as  plunging  down  the  deepj 

And  some  remounting  o'er  the  slippery  steep 

Seem  laboring  still,  but  moveless,  lifeless  all; 

And  the  chill'd  army  here  awaits  its  fall. 

But  Hesper  guardian  of  Hesperia's  right 
From  his  far  heaven  looks  thro  the  rayless  night 
And  stung  to  vengeance  at  the  unequal  strife, 
To  save  her  host,  in  jeopardy  of  life,  180 

Starts  from  his  throne,  ascends  his  flamy  car 
And  turns  tremendous  to  the  field  of  war. 


i  Vi  i  ulJ  MBIAD. 

His  wheels,  resurging  from  the  depth  of  even, 

Roll  back  the  night,  streak  wide  the  startled  heaven. 

Regain  their  easting  with  reverted  gyres 

And  stud  their  path  with  scintillating  fires. 

He  cleaves  the  clouds;  and  swift  as  beams  of  day 

O'er  California  sweeps  his  splendid  way, 

Missouri's  mountains  at  his  passage  nod 

And  now  sad  Delaware  feels  the  present  god  190 

And  trembles  at  his  tread.  For  here  to  fight 

Rush  two  dread  Powers  of  such  unmeasured  might. 

As  threats  to  annihilate  his  doubtful  reign, 

Convulse  the  heaven  and  mingle  earth  and  main. 

Frost  views  his  brilliant  foe  with  scornful  eye 

And  whirls  a  tenfold  tempest  thro  the  sky; 

Where  each  fine  atom  of  the  immense  of  air, 

Steel'd,  pointed,  barb'd  for  unexampled  war, 

Sings  o'er  the  shuddering  ground;  when  thus  he  broke 

Contemptuous  silence,  and  to  Hcsper  spoke:  200 

Thou  comest  in  time  to  share  their  last  disgrace, 

To  change  to  crystal  with  thy  rebel  race, 

Stretch  thy  huge  corse  o'er  Delaware's  bank  afar 

And  learn  the  force  of  elemental  war. 

Or  if  undying  life  thy  lamp  inspire, 

Take  that  one  blast  and  to  thy  sky  retire; 
Vol.  II.  B 


14  COLUMBIA!)  BOOK 

There,  rolFd  eternal  round  the  heavens,  proclaim 

Thy  own  disaster  and  my  deathless  fame. 

I  come,  said  Hesper,  not  to  insult  the  brave, 

But  break  thy  sceptre  and  let  loose  my  wave,  210 

Teach  the  proud  stream  more  peaceful  tides  to  roll, 

And  send  thee  howling  to  thy  stormy  pole; 

That  drear  dominion  shall  thy  rage  confine; 

This  land,  these  waters  and  those  troops  are  mine. 
He  added  not;  and  now  the  sable  storm, 

Pierced  by  strong  splendor,  burst  before  his  form: 

His  visage  stern  an  awful  lustre  shed, 

His  pearly  planet  play'd  around  his  head. 

He  seized  a  lofty  pine,  whose  roots  of  yore 

Struck  deep  in  earth  to  guard  the  sandy  shore 

From  hostile  ravage  of  the  mining  tide, 

That  rakes  with  spoils  of  earth  its  crumbling  side. 

He  wrencht  it  from  the  soil,  and  o'er  the  foe, 

Whirl'd  the  strong  trunk  and  aim'd  a  sweeping  blow, 

That  sung  thro  air,  but  miss'd  the  moving  god 

And  fell  wide  crashing  on  the  frozen  flood. 

For  many  a  rood  the  shivering  ice  it  tore, 

Loosed  every  bark  and  shook  the  sounding  shore, 

Stroke  after  stroke  with  doubling  force  he  plied, 

Foil'd  the  hoar  fiend  and  pulverized  the  tide.  230 


i  VI  COLUMBIAN  15 

The  baffled  tyrant  quits  the  desperate  can 

i  Hesper's  heat  the  river  swells  and  thi 
The  fleet  rolls  gently  to  the  Jersey  coast, 
And  morning  splendors  greet  the  landing  host. 

Tis  here  dread  Washington,  when  first  the 
O'er  Trenton  beam'd  to  light  his  rapid  way, 
Pour'd  the  rude  shock  on  Britain's  vanguard  train 
And  led  whole  squadrons  in  his  captive  chain; 
YVlu  an  troops  to  half  their  numbers  yield, 

Tread  back  their  steps  or  press  the  sanguine  field, 
To  Princeton  plains  precipitate  their  flight 
Thro  new  disasters  and  unfinisht  fight, 
Resign  their  conquests  by  one  sad  surprise, 
Sink  in  their  pride  and  see  their  rivals  rise. 

Here  dawn'd  the  daystar  of  Hesperia's  fame. 
Here  herald  glory  first  emblazed  her  name; 
On  Delaware's  bank  her  base  of  empire  stand?, 
The  work  of  Washington's  immortal  hands; 
Prompt  at  his  side  while  gallant  Mercer  trod 
And  seal'd  the  firm  foundation  with  his  blood.  250 

In  future  years,  if  right  the  Muse  divine. 
Some  great  memorial  on  this  bank  shall  shine: 
A  column  bold  its  granite  shaft  shall  rear, 
Sw^ll  o'er  the  strand  and  check  the  passing  air. 


16  COLUMBIA!)  BOOK  VI. 

Cast  its  broad  image  on  the  watery  glade. 

And  Bristol  greet  the  monumental  shade; 

Eternal  emblem  of  that  gloomy  hour, 

When  the  great  general  left  her  storm-beat  shore.. 

To  tempest,  night  and  his  own  sword  consign'd 

His  country's  fates,  the  fortunes  of  mankind. 

Where  sealike  Laurence  rolling  in  his  pride 
With  Ocean's  self  disputes  the  tossing  tide, 
From  shore  to  shore,  thro  dim  distending  sk 
Beneath  full  sails  imbanded'nations  rise. 
Britain  and  Brunswick  here  their  flags  unfold, 
Here  Hessia's  hordes,  for  toils  of  slaughter  sold, 
Anspach  and  Darmstat  swell  the  hireling  train. 
Proud  Caledonia  crowds  the  masted  main, 
Hibernian  kerns  and  Hanoverian  slaves 
Move  o'er  the  decks  and  darken  wide  the  waves. 

Tall  on  the  boldest  bark  superior  shone 
A.  warrior  ensign'd  with  a  various  crown; 
Myrtles  and  laurels  equal  honors  join'd,38 
Which  arms  had  purchased  and  the  Muses  twined; 
His  sword  waved  forward,  and  his  ardent  eye 
Seem'd  sharing  empires  in  the  southern  sky. 
Beside  him  rose  a  herald  to  proclaim 
His  various  honors,  titles,  feats  and  fame: 


J30OK  VI  i  0LUMB1AD.  17 

Who  raised  an  opening  scroll,  where  proudly  shone 
Burgoync  and  -vengeance  from  the  British  throne.  28© 

Champlain  receives  the  congregated  host, 
And  his  husht  waves  beneath  the  sails  are  lost; 
Ticonderoga  rears  his  rocks  in  vain, 
Nor  Edward's  walls  the  weighty  shock  sustain; 
Deep  George's  loaded  lake  reluctant  guides 
Their  bounding  barges  o'er  his39  sacred  tides\ 
State  after  state  the  splendid  pomp  appals, 
Each  town  surrenders,  every  fortress  fallsj 
Sinclair  retires;  and  with  his  feeble  train, 
In  slow  retreat  o'er  many  a  fatal  plain,  290 

Allures  their  march;  wide  moves  their  furious  force 
And  flaming  hamlets  mark  their  wasting  course; 
Thro  fortless  realms  their  spreading  ranks  are  wheel'd, 
On  Mohawk's  western  wave,  on  Bennington's  dread  field,. 

At  last  where  Hudson,  with  majestic  pace. 

Swells  at  the  sight  and  checks  his  rapid  race, 

Thro  dark  Stillwater  slow  and  silent  moves 

And  flying  troops  with  sullen  pause  reproves, 

\  few  firm  bands  their  starry  standard  rear, 

Wheel,  front  and  face  the  desolating  war.  30? 

Sudden  the  patriot  flame  each  province  warms, 

Deep  danger  calls,  the  freemen  quit  their  farm?;. 

B2 


18  COLUMBIAD.  BOok  W 

Seize  their  tried  muskets,  name  their  chiefs  to  lead, 
Indorse  their  knapsacks  and  to  vengeance  speed. 
O'er  all  the  land  the  kindling  ardor  flies, 
Troop  follows  troop,  and  flags  on  flags  arise. 
Concentred,  train'd,  their  forming  files  unite. 
Swell  into  squadrons  and  demand  the  fight. 

When  Xerxes,  raving  at  his  sire's  disgrace, 
Pour'd  his  dark  millions  on  the  coast  of  Thrace,         31p 
O'er  groaning  Hellespont  his  broad  bridge  hurl'd, 
Hew  'd  ponderous  Athos  from  the  trembling  world, 
Still'd  with  his  weight  of  ships  the  struggling  main 
And  bound  the  billows  in  his  boasted  chain, 
Wide  o'er  proud  Macedon  he  wheel'd  his  course, 
Thrace,  Thebes,  Thessalia  join'd  his  furious  force. 
Thro  six  torn  states  his  hovering  swarms  increase, 
\nd  hang  tremendous  on  the  skirts  of  Greece; 
Deep  groan  the  shrines  of  all  her  guardian  gods, 
Sad  Pelion  shakes,  divine  Olympus  nods,  32c 

Shock'd  Ossa  sheds  his  hundred  hills  of  snow, 
And  Tempe  swells  her  murmuring  brook  below: 
Wild  in  her  starts  of  rage  the  Pythian  shrieks, 
Dodona's  Oak  the  pangs  of  nature  speaks, 
Kleusis  quakes  thro  all  her  mystic  caves, 
\nd  black  Trophonius  gapes  a  thousand  gr> 


ROOK  VI  OMBIAD.  19 

But  soon  the  freeborn  Greeks  to  vengeaiu  c  rise, 
Brave  Sparta  springs  where  first  the  clanger  lies, 
Her  self-devoted  band,  in  one  steel'd  mass, 
Plunge  in  the  gorge  of  death  and  choke  the  pass. 
Athenian  youths  the  unwieldy  war  to  meet, 
(ouch  the  stiff  lance  or  mount  the  well  arm'd  fleet. 
They  sweep  the  incumber'd  seas  of  thei»'  vast  load 
And  fat  their  fields  with  lakes  of  Asian  blood. 

So  leapt  our  youths  to  meet  the  invading  I  M  Vs^ 
Fame  fired  their  courage,  freedom  edged  their  swords. 
Gates  in  their  van,  on  high-hili'd  Bemus  rose, 
Waved  his  blue  steel  and  dared  the  headlong  foes; 
Undaunted  Lincoln,  laboring  on  his  right, 
Urged  every  arm,  and  gave  them  hearts  to  fight;       340 
Starke,  at  the  dexter  flank,  the  onset  claims, 
Indignant  Herkimer  the  left  inflames; 
He  bounds  exulting  to  commence  the  strife 
And  buy  the  victory  with  his  barter'd  life. 

And  why,  sweet  Minstrel,  from  the  harp  of  fame 
Withhold  so  long  that  once  resounding  name? 
The  chief  who  steering  by  the  boreal  star 
O'er  wild  Canadia  led  our  infant  war, 
In  desperate  straits  superior  pow'rs  displayed, 
Burgoyne's  dread  scourge,  Montgomery's  ablest  aid?  35^ 


60  COLUMBIA©.  BOOK 

Ridgefield  and  Compo  saw  his  valorous  might, 
With  ill  arm'd  swains  put  veteran  troops  to  flight. 
Tho  treason  foul  hath  since  absorb'd  his  souK 
Bade  waves  of  dark  oblivion  round  him  roll, 
Sunk  his  proud  heart  abhorrent  and  abhorr'd, 
Effaced  his  memory  and  defiled  his  sword; 
Yet  then  untarnisht  roll'd  his  conquering  car; 
Then  famed  and  foremost  in  the  ranks  of  war 
Brave  Arnold  trod;  high  valor  warm'd  his  breast, 
And  beams  of  glory  play'd  around  his  crest. 
Here  toils  the  chief;  whole  armies  from  his  eye 
Resume  their  souls  and  swift  to  combat  fly. 

Campt  on  a  hundred  hills,  and  trencht  in  form, 
Burgoyne's  long  legions  view  the  gathering  s'torm;- 
Uncounted  nations  round  their  general  stand, 
And  wait  the  signal  from  his  guiding  hand. 
Canadia  crowds  her  Gallic  colons  there, 
Ontario's  yelling  tribes  torment  the  air, 
Wild  Huron  sends  his  lurking  hordes  from  far, 
Insidious  Mohawk  swells  the  woodland  war;  3 

Scalpers  and  ax-men  rush  from  Erie's  shore, 
And  Iroquois  augments  the  war  whoop  roar; 
While  all  his  ancient  troops  his  train  supply, 
Half  Europe's  banners  waving  thro  the  sky; 


BOOK  VI  I  or  UMBIAB  21 

Deep  squadron'd  horse  support  his  endless  flanks, 

\nd  park'd  artillery  frowns  behind  the  ranks. 

1'lusht  with  the  conquest  of  a  thousand  fields 

And  rich  with  spoils  that  all  the  region  yields, 

They  burn  with  zeal  to  close  the  long  campaign 

And  crush  Columbia  on  this  final  plain.  38r 

His  fellow  chiefs  inhale  the  hero's  flame, 
Nerves  of  his  arm  and  partners  in  his  fame: 
Phillips,  with  treasured  thunders  poised  and  wheel'd 
In  brazen  tubes  prepares  to  rake  the  field; 
The  trench-tops  darken  with  the  sable  rows, 
Vnd  tipt  with  fire  the  waving  match-rope  glows. 
There  gallant  Reidesel  in  German  guise, 
And  Specht  and  Breyman  prompt  for  action  rise; 
His  savage  hordes  the  murderous  Johnson40  leads, 
Files  thro  the  woods  and  treads  the  tangled  weeds,    390 
Shuns  open  combat,  teaches  where  to  run, 
Skulk,  couch  the  ambush,  aim  the  hunter's  gun, 
Whirl  the  sly  tomahawk,  the  war  whoop,  sing, 
Divide  the  spoils  and  pack  the  scalps  they  bring. 

Frazer  in  quest  of  glory  seeks  the  field; — 
False  glare  of  glory,  what  hast  thou  to  yield?- 
How  long,  deluding  phantom,  wilt  thou  blind. 
Mislead,  debase,  unhumanize  mankind? 


22  COLUMBIA!)  UOOK  M 

Bid  the  bold  youth,  his  headlong  sword  who  draws, 

Heed  not  the  object  nor  inquire  the  cause, 

But  seek,  adventuring  like  an  errant  knight, 

Wars  not  his  own,  gratuitous  in  fight, 

Greet  the  gored  field,  then  plunging  thro  the  fire. 

Mow  down  his  men,  with  stupid  pride  expire, 

Shed  from  his  closing  eyes  the  finisht  flame 

And  ask,  for  all  his  crimes,  a  deathless  name? 

And  when  shall  solid  glory  pure  and  bright 

Alone  inspire  us  and  our  deeds  requite? 

When  shall  the  applause  uf  men  their  chiefs  pursue 

In  just  proportion  to  the  good  they  do,  4lv 

On  virtue's  base  erect  the  shrine  of  fame, 

Define  her  empire  and  her  code  proclaim? 

Unhappy  Frazer!  little  hast  thou  weigh'd 
The  crimeful  cause  thy  valor  comes  to  aid. 
Far  from  thy  native  land,  thy  sire,  thy  wife, 
Love's  lisping  race  that  cling  about  thy  life, 
Thy  soul  beats  high,  thy  thoughts  expanding  roan/ 
On  battles  past  and  laurels  yet  to  come: 
Alas,  what  laurels?  where  the  lasting  gain? 
A  pompous  funeral  on  a  desert  plain!  420 

The  cannon's  roar,  the  muffled  drums  proclaim, 
In  one  short  blast,  thy  momentary  fame; 


VI  COL1    tfBl  vh 

And  sonic  war  minister  pcr-hazard  reads 

In  what  far  field  the  tool  of  placemen  bleeds. 

Brave  Heartlv  strode  in  youth's  o'erweening  pride; 
Housed  in  the  camp  he  left  his  blooming  bride, 
The  sweet  I  ucinda;  whom  her  sire  from  far, 
On  steeds  high  bounding  o'er  the  waste  of  war,, 
Had  guided  thro  the  lines  and  hither  led, 

fateful  morn,  the  plighted  chief  to  wed.  43G 

He  deem'd,  deluded  sire!  the  contest  o'er, 
That  routed  rebels  dared  the  light  no  more; 
And  came  to  mingle,  as  the  tumult  ceased, 
The  victor's  triumph  with  the  nuptial  feast. 
They  reacht  his  tent;  when  now  with  loud  alarms 
The  morn  burst  forth  and  roused  the  camp  to  arms; 
Conflicting  passions  seized  the  lover's  breast, 
Bright  honor  call'd  and  bright  Lucinda  prest: 
And  wilt  thou  leave  me  for  that  clangorous  call? 
Traced  I  these  deserts  but  to  see  thee  fall?  440 

I  know  thy  valorous  heart,  thy  zeal  that  speeds 
Where  dangers  press  and  boldest  battle  bleeds. 
My  father  said  blest  Hymen  here  should  join 
With  sacred  Love  to  make  Lucinda  thine; 
But  other  union  these  dire  drums  foredoom. 
The  dark  dead  union  of  the  eternal  tomb 


24  C0LUMB1AD  BOOK  VI. 

On  yonder  plain,  soon  sheeted  o'er  with  blood, 

Our  nuptial  couch  shall  prove  a  crimson  clod; 

For  there  this  night  thy  livid  corse  must  lie, 

I'll  seek  it  there  and  on  that  bosom  die.  450 

Yet  go;  tis  duty  calls;  but  o'er  thy  head 

Let  this  white  plume  its  floating  foliage  spread; 

That  from  the  rampart,  thro  the  troubled  air, 

These  eyes  may  trace  thee  toiling  in  the  war. 

She  fixt  the  feather  on  his  crest  above, 

Bound  with  the  mystic  knot,  the  knot  of  love; 

He  parted  silent,  but  in  silent  prayer, 

Bade  Love  and  Hymen  guard  the  timorous  fair. 

Where  Saratoga  show'd  her  champaign  side, 
That  Hudson  bathed  with  still  untainted  tide,  460 

The  opposing  pickets  pusht  their  scouting  files, 
Wheel'd,  skirmisht,  halted,  practised  all  their  wiles; 
Each  to  mislead,  insnare,  exhaust  their  foes 
And  court  the  conquest  ere  the  armies  close. 

Now  roll  like  winged  storms  the  solid  lines. 
The  clarion  thunders  and  the  battle  joins; 
Thick  flames  in  vollied  flashes  load  the  air, 
And  echoing  mountains  give  the  noise  of  war; 
Sulphureous  clouds  rise  reddening  round  the  height, 
And  veil  the  skies  and  wrap  the  sounding  fight.         470 


BOOK  VI.  LUMBIAD  2S 

Soon  from  the  skirts  of  smoke,  where  thousands  toil. 

Ranks  roll  away  and  into  light  recoil; 

Starke  pours  upon  them  in  a  storm  of  lead; 

His  hosted  swains  bestrew  the  field  with  dead, 

Pierce  with  strong  bayonets  the  German  reins, 

Whelm  two  battalions  in  their  captive  chains, 

Bid  Baum  with  wounds  enfeebled  quit  the  field 

And  Breyman  next  his  gushing  lifeblood  yield. 

This  Frazer  sees,  and  thither  turns  his  course, 

Bears  down  before  them  with  Britannia's  force,  480 

Wheels  a  broad  column  on  the  victor  flank 

And  springs  to  vengeance  thro  the  foremost  rank. 

Lincoln,  to  meet  the  hero,  sweeps  the  plain; 

His  ready  bands  the  laboring  Starke  sustain; 

Host  matching  host,  the  doubtful  battle  burns, 

And  now  the  Britons,  now  their  foes  by  turns 

Regain  the  ground;  till  Frazer  feels  the  force 

Of  a  rude  grapeshot  in  his  flouncing  horse; 

Nor  knew  the  chief,  till  struggling  from  the  fall, 

That  his  gored  thigh  had  first  received  the  ball.         490 

He  sinks  expiring  on  the  slippery  soil; 

Shock'd  at  the  sight,  his  baffled  troops  recoil; 

Where  Lincoln,  pressing  with  redoubled  might, 

Broke  thro  their  squadrons  and  confirm'd  the  flight; 
Vol.  II.  C 


26  COLUMBIA!*.  BOOK  VL 

When  this  brave  leader  met  a  stunning  blow, 

That  stopt  his  progress  and  avenged  the  foe. 

» 

He  left  the  field;  but  prodigal  of  life, 
Unwearied  Francis  still  prolong'd  the  strife: 
Till  a  chance  carabine  attained  his  head 
And  stretcht  the  hero  mid  the  vulgar  dead. 
His  near  companions  rush  with  ardent  gait, 
Swift  to  revenge,  but  soon  to  share  his  fate; 
Brown,  Adams,  Coburn,  falling  side  by  side. 
Drench  the  chill  sod  with  all  their  vital  tide. 
Firm  on  the  west  bold  Herkimer  sustains 
The  gather'd  shock  of  all  Canadia's  trains; 
Colons  and  wiidmen  post  their  skulkers  there 
Outflank  his  pickets  and  assail  his  rear, 
Drive  in  his  distant  scouts  with  hideous  blare 
And  press,  on  three  sides  close,  the  hovering  war.     5  It 
Johnson's  own  shrieks  commence  the  deafening  din. 
Rouse  every  ambush  and  the  storm  begin. 
A  thousand  thickets,  thro  each  opening  glen, 
Pour  forth  their  hunters  to  the  chase  of  men; 
Trunks  of  huge  trees  and  rocks  and  ravines  lend 
Unnumber'd  batteries  and  their  files  defend; 
They  fire,  they  squat,  they  rise,  advance  and  fly.. 
And  yells  and  groans  alternate  rend  the  skv 


i*OCK  VI  COLUMBIAN  27 

The  well  aim'd  hatchet  cleaves  the  helmle^s  head, 
Mute  showers  of  arrows  and  loud  storms  of  lead 
Rain  thick  from  hands  unseen  and  sudden  fling 
A  deep  confusion  thro  the  laboring  wing. 

But  Herkimer  undaunted  quits  the  stand, 
Bitaks  in  loose  files  his  disincumber'd  band, 
Wheels  on  the  howling  glens  each  light  arm'd  troop 
And  leads  himself  where  Johnson  tones  his  whoop. 
Pours  thro  his  copse  a  well  directed  fire; 
The  semisavage  sees  his  tribes  retire, 
Then  follows  thro  the  brush  in  full  horse  speed. 
And  gains  the  hilltop  where  the  Hurons  lead;  530 

Here  turns  his  courser;  when  a  grateful  sight 
Recals  his  stragglers  and  restrains  his  flight. 
For  Herkimer  no  longer  now  sustains 
The  loss  of  blood  that  his  faint  vitals  drains: 
A  ball  had  pierced  him  ere  he  changed  his  field; 
The  slow  sure  death  his  prudence  had  conceal'd. 
Till  dark  derouted  foes  should  yield  to  flight. 
And  his  firm  friends  could  finish  well  the  fight. 

Lopt  from  his  horse  the  hero  sinks  at  last; 
The  Hurons  ken  him  and  with  hallooing  blasj. 
Shake  the  vast  wilderness;  the  tribes  around 
Prink  with  broad  ears  and  swell  the  rending  sound, 


28  COLUMBIA©.  BOOK  VT. 

Rush  back  to  vengeance  with  tempestuous  might, 
Sweep  the  long  slopes  from  every  neighboring  height, 
Full  on  their  check'd  pursuers;  who  regain, 
From  all  their  woods,  the  first  contested  plain. 
Here  open  fight  begins;  and  sure  defeat 
Had  forced  that  column  to  a  swift  retreat, 
But  Arnold  toiling  thro  the  distant  smoke 
Beheld  their  plight,  a  small  detachment  took, 
Bore  down  behind  them  with  his  field-park  loud 
And  hail'd  his  grapeshot  thro  the  savage  crowd; 
Strow'd  every  copse  with  dead  and  chased  afar 
The  affrighted  relics  from  the  skirts  of  war. 

But  on  the  centre  swells  the  heaviest  charge. 
The  squares  develop  and  the  lines  enlarge. 
Here  Kosciusko's  mantling  works  conceaFd 
His  batteries  mute,  but  soon  to  scour  the  field j 
Morgan  with  all  his  marksmen  flanks  the  foe, 
Hull.  Brooks  and  Courtlandt  in  the  vanguard  glow; 
Here  gallant  Dearborn  leads  his  light  arm'd  train, 
Here  Scammel  towers,  here  Silly  shakes  the  plain. 
Gates  guides  the  onset  with  his  waving  brand, 
Assigns  their  task  to  each  unfolding  band, 
Sustains,  inspirits,  prompts  the  warrior's  rage, 
Now  bids  the  fiank  and  now  the  front  engage. 


BOOK  VI.  I  Oh\  MBIAB 

Points  the  stern  riflers  where  their  slugs  to  pour 
And  tells  the  unmasking  batteries  when  to  roar. 
For  here  impetuous  Powell  wheels  and  veers 
His  royal  guards,  his  British  grenadiers;  570 

His  Highland  broadswords  cut  their  wasting  course, 
His  horse-artillery  whirls  its  furious  force. 
Here  Specht  and  Reidesel  to  battle  bring 
Their  scattering  yagers  from  each  folding  wing; 
And  here,  concentred  in  tremendous  might, 
Britain's  whole  park  descending  to  the  fight 
Roars  thro  the  ranks;  tis  Phillips  leads  the  train 
And  toils  and  thunders  o'er  the  shuddering  plain. 
Burgoyne,  secure  of  victory,  from  his  height 
Eyes  the  whole  field  and  orders  all  the  fight,  580 

Marks  where  his  veterans  plunge  their  fiercest  fire 
And  where  his  foes  seem  halting  to  retire, 
Already  sees  the  starry  staff  give  way, 
And  British  ensigns  gaining  on  the  day; 
When  from  the  western  wing,  in  steely  glare, 
All  conquering  Arnold  surged  the  tide  of  war. 
Columbia  kindles  as  her  hero  comes; 
Her  trump's  shrill  clangor  and  her  deafening  drum  > 
Redoubling  sound  the  charge;  they  rage,  they  burn. 
And  hosted  Europe  trembles  in  her  turn. 

C2 


iO  COLUMBIAN.  BOOK  VI 

So  when  Pelides'  absence  check'd  her  fate, 

All  Ilion  issued  from  her  guardian  gate; 

Her  huddling  squadrons  like  a  tempest  pour'd, 

Each  man  a  hero  and  each  dart  a  sword, 

Full  on  retiring  Greece  tumultuous  fall, 

And  Greece  reluctant  seeks  her  sheltering  wall; 

But  Peleus'  son  rebounding  o'er  the  plain, 

Troy  backward  starts  and  seeks  her  towers  again. 

Arnold's  dread  falchion  with  terrific  sway 
Rolls  en  the  ranks  and  rules  the  doubtful  day,  600 

Confounds  with  one  wide  sweep  the  astonisht  foes 
And  bids  at  last  the  scene  of  slaughter  close. 
Pale  rout  begins,  Britannia's  broken  train 
Tread  back  their  steps  and  scatter  from  the  plain, 
To  their  strong  camp  precipitate  retire, 
And  wide  behind  them  streams  the  roaring  fire. 
Meantime,  the  skirts  of  war  as  Johnson  gored, 
His  kindred  cannibals  desert  their  lord; 
They  scour  the  waste  for  undistinguisht  prey, 
Howl  thro  the  night  the  horrors  of  the  day,  610 

Scalp  every  straggler  from  all  parties  stray'd, 
Each  wounded  wanderer  thro  the  moonlight  glade: 
And  while  the  absent  armies  give  them  place, 
Each  camp  they  plunder  and  each  world  disgrace 


-v  VI  L0MBIAD  31 

One  deed  shall  tell  what  fame  great  Albion  draw** 
From  these  auxiliars  in  her  barbarous  cause. 
Lucinda's  fate;  the  tale,  ye  nations,  hear; 
Eternal  ages,  trace  it  with  a  tear. 
Long  from  the  rampart,  thro  the  imbattled  field, 
She  spied  her  Heartly  where  his  column  wheel'd,     €2€ 
Traced  him  with  stedfast  eye  and  tortured  breast 
That  heaved  in  concert  with  his  dancing  crest; 
And  oft,  with  head  advanced  and  hand  outspread, 
Seem'd  from  her  love  to  ward  the  flying  lead; 
Till,  dimm'd  by  distance  and  the  gathering  cloud. 
At  last  he  vanisht  in  the  warrior  crowd. 
She  thought  he  fell;  and  wild  with  fearless  air, 
She  left  the  camp  to  brave  the  woodland  war, 
Made  a  long  circuit  all  her  friends  to  shun 
And  wander'd  wide  beneath  the  falling  sun;  630 

Then  veering  to  the  field,  the  pickets  past 
To  gain  the  hillock  where  she  miss'd  him  last. 
Fond  maid,  he  rests  not  there;  from  finisht  fight 
He  sought  the  camp  and  closed  the  rear  of  flight, 

He  hurries  to  his  tent; — oh  rage!  despair! 
No  glimpse,  no  tidings  of  the  frantic  fair; 
Save  that  some  carmen,  as  acamp  they  drove, 
Had  seen  her  coursing  for  the  western  grove. 


32  COLUMBIAN.  BOOK  VI 

Faint  with  fatigue  and  choked  with  burning  thirst, 

Forth  from  his  friends  with  bounding  leap  he  burst,  640 

Vaults  o'er  the  palisade  with  eyes  on  flame 

And  fills  the  welkin  with  Lucinda's  name, 

Swift  thro  the  wild  wood  paths  frenetic  springs, — 

Lucind !  Lucinda!  thro  the  wild  wood  rings. 

All  night  he  wanders;  barking  wolves  alone 

And  screaming  night-birds  answer  to  his  moan; 

For  war  had  roused  them  from  their  savage  den; 

They  scent  the  field,  they  snuff  the  walks  of  men, 

The  fair  one  too,  of  every  aid  forlorn, 
Had  raved  and  wander'd,  till  officious  morn  650 

Awaked  the  Mohawks  from  their  short  repose 
To  glean  the  plunder  ere  their  comrades  rose. 
Two  Mohawks  met  the  maid, — historian,  hold ! — 
Poor  human  nature,  must  thy  shame  be  told  ? 
Where  then  that  proud  preeminence  of  birth, 
Thy  moral  sense?  the  brightest  boast  of  earth. 
Had  but  the  tiger  changed  his  heart  for  thine, 
Could  rocks  their  bowels  with  that  heart  combine, 
Thy  tear  had  gusht,  thy  hand  relieved  her  pain 
And  led  Lucinda  to  her  lord  again. 

She  starts,  with  eyes  upturn'd  and  fleeting  breath, 
In  their  raised  axes  views  her  instant  death. 


1J00K  \  I  COLUMBIAD.  33 

Spreads  her  white  hands  to  heaven  in  frantic  prayer, 
Then  runs  to  grasp  their  knees  and  crouches  there. 
Her  hair,  half  lost  along  the  shrubs  she  past, 
Rolls  in  loose  tangles  round  her  lovely  waist; 
Her  kerchief  torn  betrays  the  globes  of  snow 
That  heave  responsive  to  her  weight  of  woe. 
Does  all  this  eloquence  suspend  the  knife? 
Does  no  superior  bribe  contest  her  life?  670 

There  does:  the  scalps  by  British  gold  are  paid ; 
A  long-hair'd  scalp  adorns  that  heavenly  head; 
And  comes  the  sacred  spoil  from  friend  or  foe, 
No  marks  distinguish  and  no  man  can  know. 
With  calculating  pause  and  demon  grin, 
They  seize  her  bands  and  thro  her  face  divine 
Drive  the  descending  ax;  the  shriek  she  sent 
Attain'd  her  lover's  ear;  he  thither  bent 
With  all  the  speed  his  wearied  limbs  could  yield, 
WhiiTd  his  keen  blade  and  stretcht  upon  the  field      680 

The  yelling  fiends;  who  there  disputing  stood 
Her  gory  scalp,  their  horrid  prize  of  blood. 
He  sunk  delirious  on  her  lifeless  clay 

\nd  past,  in  starts  of  sense,  the  dreadful  dav. 


4  COLUMBIAD  BOOK  VI. 

Are  these  thy  trophies,  Carleton!  these  the  swords 
Thy  hand  unsheath'd 41  and  gave  the  savage  hordes, 
Thy  boasted  friends,  by  treaties  brought  from  far 
To  aid  thy  master  in  his  murderous  war? 

But  now  Britannia's  chief,  with  proud  disdain 
Coopt  in  his  camp,  demands  the  field  again.  690 

Back  to  their  fate  his  splendid  host  he  drew, 
Swell'd  high  their  rage  and  led  the  charge  anew; 
Again  the  batteries  roar,  the  lightnings  play, 
Again  they  fall,  again  they  roll  away; 
For  now  Columbia  with  rebounding  might 
Foil'd  quick  their  columns,  but  confined  their  flight, 
Her  wings,  like  fierce  tornados,  gyring  ran, 
Crusht  their  wide  flanks  and  gain'd  their  flying  van; 
Here  Arnold  charged;  the  hero  storm'd  and  pourM 
A  thousand  thunders  where  he  turn'd  his  sword.        TOO 
No  pause,  no  parley;  onward  far  he  fi\ 
Dispersed  whole  squadrons  every  bound  he  made, 
Broke  thro  their  rampart,  seized  their  camp  and  stores, 
And  pluck'd  the  standard  from  their  broken  towers. 

Aghast,  confounded  in  the  midway  field, 
They  drop  their  arms;  the  banded  nations  yield, 


BOOK  VI  COLUMBIA!).  35 

Wheu  sad  Burgoyne,  in  one  disastrous  day, 

Sees  future  crowns  and  former  wreaths  decay. 

His  banners  furl'd,  his  long  battalions  wheel'd 

To  pile  their  muskets  on  the  battle  field;  710 

While  two  pacific  armies  shade  one  plain, 

The  mighty  victors  and  the  captive  train. 


1'IIK 


COLUMBIAN 

BOOK  VII. 


Vol.  II.  O 


ARGUMEN1 

Coast  of  France  rises  in  vision.  Louis,  to  humble  the 
British  power,  forms  an  alliance  with  the  American  states. 
This  brings  France,  Spain  and  Holland  into  the  war  and 
rouses  Hyder  Ally  to  attack  the  English  in  India.  The 
vision  returns  to  America,  where  the  military  operations 
continue  with  various  success.  Battle  of  Monmouth. 
Storming  of  Stonypoint  by  Wayne.  Actions  of  Lincoln 
and  Surrender  of  Charleston.  Movements  of  Cornwallis. 
\ctions  of  Greene  and  battle  of  Eutaw.  French  army  ar- 
rives and  joins  the  American.  They  march  to  besiege  the 
English  army  of  Cornwallis  in  York  and  Gloster.  Naval 
battle  of  Dcgrasse  and  Graves.  Two  of  their  ships  grap- 
pled and  blown  up.  Progress  of  the  siege.  A  citadel  mined 
and  blown  up.  Capture  of  Cornwallis  and  his  army.  Then 
banners  furled  and  muskets  piled  on  the  field  of  battle. 


COLUMBIA!). 

BOOK  VII 

1  HUS  view'd  the  Pair;  when  lo,  in  eastern  sis 
From  glooms  unfolding,  Gallia's  coasts  arise. 
Bright  o'er  the  scenes  of  state  a  golden  throne 
Instarr'd  "with  gems  and  hung  with  purple  shone; 
Young  Bourbon  there  in  royal  splendor  sat, 
And  fleets  and  moving  armies  round  him  v- 
For  now  the  contest,  with  increased  alarms, 
Fill'd  every  court  and  roused  the  world  to  arms; 
As  Hesper's  hand,  that  light  from  darkness  brings, 
And  good  to  nations  from  the  scourge  of  kings, 
In  this  dread  hour  bade  broader  beams  unfold 
And  the  new  world  illuminate  the  old. 

In  Europe's  realms  a  school  of  sages  trac< 
The  expanding  dawn  that  waits  the  reasor 


COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  VII 

On  the  bright  Occident  they  fix  their  eyes, 
Thro  glorious  toils  where  struggling  nations  rise; 
Where  each  firm  deed,  each  new  illustrious  name 
Calls  into  light  a  field  of  nobler  fame: 
A  field  that  feeds  their  hope,  confirms  the  plan 
Of  well  poised  freedom  and  the  weal  of  man. 
They  scheme,  they  theorize,  expand  their  scope , 
Glance  o'er  Hesperia  to  her  utmost  cope; 
Where  streams  unknown  for  other  oceans  stray, 
Where  suns  unseen  their  waste  of  beams  display. 
Where  sires  of  unborn  nations  claim  their  birth 
And  ask  their  empires  in  those  wilds  of  earth. 
While  round  all  eastern  climes,  with  painful  eye, 
In  slavery  sunk  they  see  the  kingdoms  lie, 
Whole  states  exhausted  to  enrich  a  throne, 
Their  fruits  untasted  and  their  rights  unknown; 
Thro  tears  of  grief,  that  speak  the  well  taught  mind. 
They  hail  the  era  that  relieves  mankind. 

Of  these  the  first,  the  Gallic  sages  stand, 
And  urge  their  king  to  lift  an  aiding  hand. 
The  cause  of  humankind  their  souls  inspired, 
Columbia's  wrongs  their  indignation  fired; 
To  share  her  fateful  deeds  their  counsel  moved. 
To  base  in  practice  what  in  theme  they  proved: 


iOpK  VT1  I  OLt  \.Isl\u  41 

That  no  proud  privilege  from  birth  can  spring, 

Xo  right  divine  nor  compact12  form  a  king;  40 

That  in  the  people  dwells  the  sovereign  sway, 

Who  rule  by  proxy,  by  themselves  obey; 

That  virtues,  talents  are  the  test  of  awe, 

And  Equal  Rights  the  only  source  of  law. 

Surrounding  heroes  wait  the  monarch's  word, 

In  foreign  fields  to  draw  the  patriot  sword, 

Prepared  with  joy  to  join  those  infant  powers 

Who  build  republics  on  the  western  shores. 

By  honest  guile  the  royal  ear  they  bend 
And  lure  him  on,  blest  freedom  to  defend; 
That,  once  recognised  once  establisht  there, 
The  world  might  learn  her  proffer'd  boon  to  share. 
But  artful  arguments  their  plan  disguise, 
Garb'd  in  the  gloss  that  suits  a  monarch's  eyes. 
By  arms  to  humble  Britain's  haughty  power. 
From  her  to  sever  that  extended  shore, 
Contents  his  utmost  wish.  For  this  he  lends 
His  powerful  aid  and  calls  the  opprest  his  friends. 
The  league  proposed,  he  lifts  his  arm  to  save 
And  speaks  the  borrow'd  language  of  the  brave:  60 

Ye  states  of  France,  and  ye  of  rising  name 

k  those  distant  miracles  of  fame, 

D  2 


43  COLUMBIAD  BOOK  Vlf 

Hear  and  attend;  let  heaven  the  witness  bear, 

We  wed  the  cause,  we  join  the  righteous  war. 

Let  leagues  eternal  bind  each  friendly  land, 

Given  by  our  voice  and  stablishtby  our  hand; 

Let  that  brave  people  fix  their  infant  sway 

And  spread  their  blessings  with  the  bounds  of  day. 

Yet  know,  ye  nations,  hear  ye  Powers  above, 

Our  purposed  aid  no  views  of  conquest  move; 

In  that  young  world  revives  no  ancient  claim 

Of  regions  peopled  by  the  Gallic  name; 

Our  envied  bounds,  already  stretcht  afar, 

Nor  ask  the  sword  nor  fear  encroaching  war; 

But  virtue,  coping  with  the  tyrant  power 

That  drenches  earth  in  her  best  children's  gore, 

With  nature's  foes  bids  former  compact  cease; 

We  war  reluctant  and  our  wish  is  peace; 

For  man's  whole  race  the  sword  of  France  we  draw; 

Such  is  our  will,  and  let  our  will  be  law.  8f, 

He  spoke;  his  moving  armies  veil'd  the  plain, 
His  fleets  rode  bounding  on  the  western  main; 
O'er  lands  and  seas  the  loud  applauses  rung 

Vnd  war  and  union  dwelt  on  every  tongue. 

The  other  Bourbon  caught  the  splendid  strain, 

To  Gallia's  arms  he  joins  the  powers  of  Spain; 


BOOK  VII.  COLUMBIA!)  45 

Their  sails  assemble;  Crillon  lifts  the  sword, 

Minorca  bows  and  owns  her  ancient  lord. 

But  while  dread  Elliott43  shakes  the  Midland  wave, 

They  strive  in  vain  the  Calpian  rock  to  brave.  90 

Batavia's  states  with  equal  speed  prepare 

Thro  western  isles  to  meet  the  naval  war; 

For  Albion  there  rakes  rude  the  tortured  main 

And  foils  the  force  of  Holland,  France  and  Spain. 

Where  old  Indostan  still  perfumes  the  skies, 
To  furious  strife  his  ardent  myriads  rise; 
Fierce  Hyder  there,  unconquerably  bold, 
Bids  a  new  flag  its  horned  moons  unfold, 
Spreads  o'er  Carnatic  kings  his  splendid  force 
And  checks  the  Britons  in  their  wasting  course.         100 

Europe's  pacific  powers  their  counsels  join, 
The  laws  of  trade  to  settle  and  define. 
The  imperial  Moscovite  around  him  draws 
Each  Baltic  state  to  join  the  righteous  cause; 
Whose  arm'd  Neutrality  the  way  prepares 
To  check  the  ravages  of  future  wars; 
Till  by  degrees  the  wrasting  sword  shall  cease 
And  commerce  lead  to  universal  peace. 

Thus  all  the  ancient  world  with  anxious  eyes 
>y  the  lights  that  gild  Atlantic  skies,  1 10 


44  COLUMBIA!).  BOOKVU' 

Wake  to  new  life,  assume  a  borrow'd  flame, 
Enlarge  the  lustre  and  partake  the  fame. 
So  mounts  of  ice,  that  polar  heavens  invade, 
Tho  piled  unseen  thro  night's  lo»g  wintry  shade, 
When  morn  at  last  illumes  iheir  glaring  throne, 
Give  back  the  day  and  imitate  the^un. 

But  still  Columbus,  on  his  war-beat  shore, 
Sees  Albion's  fleets  her  new  battalions  pour; 
The  states  unconquer'd  still  their  terrors  wield 
And  stain  with  mingled  gore  the  embattled  field.       120 
On  Pennsylvania's  various  plains  they  move, 
And  adverse  armies  equal  slaughter  prove; 
Columbia  mourns  her  Nash  in  combat  slain, 
Britons  around  him  press  the  gory  plain; 
Skirmish  and  cannonade  and  distant  fire 
Each  power  diminish  and  each  nation  tire. 
Till  Howe  from  fruitless  toil  demands  repose 
And  leaves  despairing  in  a  land  of  foes 
His  wearied  host;  who  now,  to  reach  their  fleet, 
O'er  Jersey  hills  commence  their  long  retreat,  130 

Tread  back  the  steps  their  chief  had  led  before 
And  ask  in  vain  the  late  abandon'd  shore, 
Where  Hudson  meets  the  main;  for  on  their  rear 
Columbia  moves  and  checks  their  swift  career. 


[  VII.  I  OLUMBIAD.  4j 

But  where  green  Monmouth  lifts  his  grassy  height, 
They  halt,  they  face,  they  dare  the  coming  fight. 
Howe's  proud  successor,  Clinton,  hosting  there, 
To  tempt  once  more  the  desperate  chance  of  war, 
Towers  at  their  head,  in  hopes  to  work  relief 
Vnd  mend  the  errors  of  his  former  chief.  140 

Here  shines  his  day;  and  here  with  loud  acclaim 
Begins  and  ends  his  little  task  of  fame. 
He  vaults  before  them  with  his  balanced  blade. 
Wheels  the  bright  van  and  forms  the  long  parade; 
Where  Britons,  Hessians  crowd  the  glittering  field, 
And  all  their  powers  for  ready  combat  wield. 
As  the  dim  sun,  beneath  the  skirts  of  even, 
Crimsons  the  clouds  that  sail  the  western  heaven; 
So  in  red  wavy  rows  where  spread  the  train 
Of  men  and  standards,  shone  the  fateful  plain.  150 

They  shone,  till  Washington  obscured  their  light, 
And  his  long  ranks  roll'd  forward  to  the  fight. 
lie  points  the  charge;  the  mounted  thunders  roar 
And  rake  the  champaign  to  the  distant  shore. 
Above  the  folds  of  smoke  that  veil  the  war, 
His  guiding  sword  illumes  the  fields  of  air; 
And  vollied  flames  bright  bursting  o'er  the  plain 
Break  the  brown  clouds,  discovering  far  the  slain: 


46  C0LUMB1AD  BOOK  VII 

Till  flight  begins;  the  smoke  is  rolPd  away. 

And  the  red  standards  open  into  day .  1  $0 

Britons  and  Germans  hurry  from  the  field, 

Now  wrapt  in  dust  and  now  to  sight  revcal'd; 

Behind,  swift  Washington  his  falchion  drives, 

Thins  the  pale  ranks,  but  saves  submissive  lives. 

Hosts  captive  bow  and  move  behind  his  arm, 

And  hosts  before  him  wing  the  sounding  storm  > 

When  the  glad  sea  salutes  their  fainting  sight, 

And  Albion's  fleet  wide  thundering  aids  their  flight: 

They  steer  to  sad  Newyork  their  hasty  way 

And  rue  the  toils  of  Monmouth's  mournful  day.  170 

But  Hudson  still,  with  his  interior  tide, 
Laves  a  rude  rock  that  bears  Britannia's  pride, 
Swells  round  the  headland  with  indignant  roar 
And  mocks  her  thunders  from  his  murmuring  shore 
When  a  firm  cohort  starts  from  Peekskill  plain 
To  crush  the  invaders  and  the  post  regain. 
Here,  gallant  Hull,  again  thy  sword  is  tried, 
Meigs,  Fleury,  Butler,  laboring  side  by  side, 
Wayne  takes  the  guidance,  culls  the  vigorous  band, 
Strikes  out  the  flint  and  bids  the  nervous  hand  180 

Trust  the  mute  bayonet  and  midnight  skies, 
To  stretch  o'er  craggy  walls  the  dark  surprise. 


BOOK  VII.  (  <>Li   MfUAD. 

With  axes,  handspikes  on  the  shoulder  hung, 
And  the  sly  watchword  whisper'd  from  the  tongue. 
Thro  different  paths  the  silent  march  they  take, 
Plunge,  climb  the  ditch,  the  palisado  break, 
Secure  each  sentinel,  each  picket  shun, 
Grope  the  dim  postern  where  the  byways  run. 
Soon  the  roused  garrison  perceives  its  plight; 
Small  time  to  rally  and  no  means  of  flight,  190 

They  spring  confused  to  every  post  they  know, 
Point  their  poised  cannon  where  they  hear  the  foe, 
Streak  the  dark  welkin  with  the  flames  they  pour 
And  rock  the  mountain  with  convulsive  roar. 

The  swift  assailants  still  no  fire  return, 
But,  tow'rd  the  batteries  that  above  them  burn, 
Climb  hard  from  crag  to  crag;  and  scaling  higher 
They  pierce  the  long  dense  canopy  of  fire 
That  sheeted  all  the  sky;  then  rush  amain, 
Storm  every  outwork,  each  dread  summit  gain,. 
Hew  timber'd  gates,  the  sullen  drawbridge  fall, 
File  thro  and  form  within  the  sounding  wall. 
The  Britons  strike  their  flag,  the  fort  forego. 
Descend  sad  prisoners  to  the  plain  below. 
A  thousand  veterans,  ere  the  morning  rose. 
Received  their  handcuffs  from  five  hundred  foes: 


48  COLUMBIA©  BOOK  VB 

And  Stonypoint  beheld,  with  dawning  day, 
His  own  starr'd  standard  on  his  rampart  play. 

From  sack'd  Savanna,  whelm'd  in  hostile  fires, 
A  few  raw  troops  brave  Lincoln  now  retires;  210 

With  rapid  march  to  suffering  Charleston  goes 
To  meet  the  myriads  of  concentring  foes, 
Who  shade  the  pointed  strand.  Each  fluvial  flood 
Their  gathering  fleets  and  floating  batteries  load, 
Close  their  black  sails,  debark  the  amphibious  host 
And  with  their  moony  anchors  fang  the  coast. 

The  bold  beleaguer'd  post  the  hero  gains 

And  the  hard  siege  with  various  fate  sustains. 

Cornwallis,  towering  at  the  British  van, 

In  these  fierce  toils  his  wild  career  began;  220 

He  mounts  the  forky  streams  and  soon  bestrides 

The  narrow  neck  that  parts  converging  tides, 

Sinks  the  deep  trench,  erects  the  mantling  tower, 

Lines  with  strong  forts  the  desolated  shore, 

Hems  on  all  sides  the  long  unsuccour'd  place, 

With  mines  and  parallels  contracts  the  space; 

Then  bids  the  battering  floats  his  labors  crown 

I 
And  pour  their  bombard  on  the  shuddering  town. 

High  from  the  decks  the  mortar's  bursting  fires 

Sweep  the  full  streets  and  splinter  down  the  spires. 


HOOK  MI.  OOLUMBIAD.        „  49 

Blaze-trailing  fuses  vault  the  night's  dim  rounds 
And  shells  and  langrage  lacerate  the  ground; 
Till  all  the  tented  plain,  where  heroes  tread, 
Is  torn  with  crags  and  cover'd  with  the  dead. 
Each  shower  of  flames  renews  the  townsmen's  woe. 
They  wail  the  fight,  they  dread  the  cruel  foe. 
Matrons  in  crowds,  while  tears  bedew  their  charms, 
Babes  at  their  sides  and  infants  in  their  arms, 
Press  round  their  Lincoln  and  his  hand  implore, 
To  save  them  trembling  from  the  tyrant's  power. 
He  shares  their  anguish  with  a  moistening  eye 
And  bids  the  balls  rain  thicker  thro  the  sky; 
Tries  every  aid  that  art  and  valor  yield, 
The  sap,  the  countermine,  the  battling  field. 
The  bold  sortie,  by  famine  urged  afar, 
That  dreadful  daughter  of  earth-wasting  Y 
But  vain  the  conflict  now;  on  all  the  shore 
The  foes  in  fresh  brigades  around  him  pour; 
He  yields  at  last  the  well  contested  prize, 
And  freedom's  banners  quit  the  southern  skies. 

The  victor  Britons  soon  the  champaign  tread 
And  far  anorth  their  fire  and  slaughter  spread ; 
Thro  fortless  realms,  where  unarm'd  peasants  flj , 
Comwallis  bears  his  bloody  standard  high; 

Vol.  II,  J? 


•  DLUMBIAU  iiuOK  Vli 

O'er  Carolina  roils  his  growing  force, 

And  thousands  fall  and  thousands  aid  his  course  -> 

While  in  his  march  athwart  the  wide  domain, 

Colonial  dastards  join  his  splendid  train. 

So  mountain  streams  thro  slopes  of  melting  snow 

Swell  their  foul  waves  and  flood  the  world  below. 

Awhile  the  Patriarch  saw,  with  heaving  sighs. 
These  crimson  flags  insult  the  saddening  skie^. 
Saw  desolation  whelm  his  favorite  coast, 
His  children  scatter'd  and  their  vigor  lost, 
Dekalb  in  furious  combat  press  the  plain, 
Morgan  and  Smallwood  every  shock  sustain, 
Gates,  now  no  more  triumphant,  quit  the  field, 
Indignant  Davidson  his  lifeblood  yield, 
Blount,  Gregory,  Williamson,  with  souls  of  fire 
But  slender  force,  from  hill  to  hill  retire; 
When  Greene  in  lonely  greatness  takes  the  ground 
And  bids  at  last  the  trump  of  vengeance  sound. 

A  few  firm  patriots  to  the  chief  repair, 
Raise  the  star  standard  and  demand  the  war. 
But  o'er  the  regions  as  he  turns  his  eyes, 
What  foes  develop!  and  what  forts  arise! 
Rawdon  with  rapid  marches  leads  their  course,. 
From  state  to  state  Cornwailis  whirls  their  fore 


BOOKVil  COLUMBIA!) 

Impetuous  Tarleton  like  a  torrent  pours, 
And  fresh  battalions  land  along  the  shores, 
Where,  now  resurgent  from  his  captive  chain, 
Phillips  wide  storming  shakes  the  field  again; 
And  traitor  Arnold,  lured  by  plunder  o'er, 
Joins  the  proud  powers  his  valor  foil'dbefore. 
Greene  views  the  tempest  with  collected  - 
\nd  fates  of  empires  in  his  bosom  roll; 
So  small  his  force,  where  shall  he  lift  the  steel 
(Superior  hosts  o'er  every  canton  wheel) 
Or  how  behold  their  wanton  carnage  spread. 
Himself  stand  idle  and  his  country  ileed? 
Fixt  in  a  moment's  pause  the  general  stood 
And  held  his  warriors  from  the  field  of  blood; 
Then  points  the  British  legions  where  to  steer, 
Marks  to  their  chief  a  rapid  wild  career, 
Wide  o'er  Virginia  lets  him  foeless  roam 
To  search  for  pillage  and  to  find  his  doom, 
With  short-lived  glory  feeds  his  sateless  flai 
But  leaves  the  victory  to  a  nobler  name, 
Gives  to  great  Washington  to  meet  his  way, 
Nor  claims  the  honors  of  so  bright  a  day.  300 

Now  to  the  conquer'd  south  he  turns  his  forcei 
the  nation  by  his  rajj^l  course f 


LUMBUD  >K  VTf. 

Forts  fall  around  him,  hosts  before  him  fly, 

d  captive  bands  his  growing  train  supply, 
A  hundred  leagues  of  coast,  in  one  campaign. 
Return  reconquer 'd  to  their  lords  again. 
At  last  Britannia's  vanguard,  near  the  strand. 
Veers  on  her  foe  to  make  one  vigorous  stand. 
Her  gallant  Stuart  here  amass'd  from  far 
The  veteran  legions  of  the  Georgian  war, 
To  aid  her  hard-pusht  powers  and  quick  restore 
The  British  name  to  that  extended  shore. 
He  checks  their  flight  and  chooses  well  their  field, 

:'d  with  a  marsh,  by  lofty  woods  conceal'd; 
Where  Eutaw's  fountains  tinged  of  old  with  gore 

.Hiring  swelFd  amid  the  bones  they  bore.* 
Lned  again  to  foul  their  pebbly  stream, 
The  mournful  monuments  of  human  fame; 
There  Albion's  columns  ranged  in  order  bright 
d  like  a  fiery  wall  and  wait  the  shock  of  fight. 
Swift  on  the  neighboring  hill  as  Greene  arose. 
He  view'd  with  rapid  glance  the  glittering  foes, 
Disposed  for  combat  all  his  ardent  train, 
To  charge,  change  front,  each  echelon  sustain; 
Housed  well  their  rage  superior  force  to  prove, 
ed  his  bright  blade  and  bade  the  onset  mo 


hook  ColumBJ  5:> 

As  hovering  clouds,  when  morning  beams  arise, 
Hang  their  red  curtains  round  our  eastern  skies, 
Unfold  a  space  to  hail  the  promised  sun 
And  catch  their  splendors  from  his  rising  throne;      330 
Thus  glow'd  the  opposing  fronts,  whose  steely  glare 
Glanced  o'er  the  shuddering  interval  of  war. 
From  Albion's  left  the  cannonade  began 
And  poured  thick  thunders  on  Hesperia's  van, 
Forced  in  her  dexter  guards,  that  skirmisht  wide 
To  prove  what  powers  the  forest  hills  might  hide; 
They  break,  fall  back,  with  measured  quickstep  tread, 
Form  close,  and  flank  the  solid  squares  they  led. 
Now  roll,  with  kindling  haste,  the  long  stark  lines. 
From  wing  to  wing  the  sounding  battle  joins; 
Batteries  and  field-parks  and  platoons  of  fire, 
In  mingled  shocks  their  roaring  blasts  expire 
Each  front  approaching  fast,  with  equal  pace, 
Devours  undaunted  their  dividing  space; 
Till,  dark  beneath  the  smoke,  the  meeting  ranks 
Slope  their  strong  bayonets,  with  short  firm  shanks 
Protruded  from  their  tubes;  each  bristling  van, 
Steel  fronting  steel  and  man  encountering  man, 
In  dreadful  silence  tread.  As,  wrapt  from  sight, 
The  nightly  ambush  moves  to  secret  fight; 


54  COLUMMAD.  BOOK  VII 

So  rush  the  raging  files  and  sightless  close 
In  plunging  thrust  with  fierce  conflicting  foes. 
They  reach,  they  strike,  they  stagger  o'er  the  slain. 
Deal  doubtful  blows  or  closing  clench  their  man, 
Intwine  their  twisting  limbs,  the  gun  forego, 
Wrench  off  the  bayonet  and  dirk  the  foe; 
Then  struggling  back  reseize  the  musket  bare. 
Club  the  broad  breech  and  headlong  whirl  to  war. 
Ranks  crush  on  ranks,  with  equal  slaughter  gored, 
Warm  dripping  streams  from  every  lifted  sword        360 
Stain  the  thin  carnaged  corps;  who  still  maintain, 
With  mutual  shocks,  the  vengeance  of  the  plain. 
At  last  where  Williams  fought  and  Campbell  fell, 
Unwonted  strokes  the  British  line  repel. 
The  rout  begins;  the  shatter'd  wings  afar 
Roll  back  in  haste  and  scatter  from  the  war; 
They  drop  their  arms,  they  scour  the  marshy  field, 
Whole  squadrons  fall  and  faint  battalions  yield. 

The  great  observer,  fixt  in  his  midsky, 
View'd  the  whole  combat,  saw  them  fall  and  fly:         370 
He  markt  where  Greene  with  every  onset  drove, 
Saw  death  and  victory  with  his  presence  move, 
'Beneath  his  arm  saw  Marion,  Sumter,  Gaine, 
Pickens  and  Sumner  shake  the  astonisht  plain^ 


BOOK  VII.  COLUMBIAD  55 

He  saw  young  Washington,  the  child  of  fame, 
Preserve  in  fight  the  honors  of  his  name. 
Lee,  Jackson,  Hampton,  Pinckney,  matcht  in  might;, 
Roird  on  the  storm  and  hurried  fast  the  flight: 
While  numerous  chiefs,  that  equal  trophies  raise, 
Wrought,  not  unseen,  the  deeds  of  deathless  praise.  380 

As  Europe  now  the  newborn  states  beheld 
The  shock  sustain  of  many  a  hard  fought  field; 
Swift  o'er  the  main,  with  high  spread  sails  advance 
Our  brave  auxiliars  from  the  coast  of  France. 
On  the  tall  decks  their  curious  chiefs  explore, 
With  optic  tube,  our  camp-incumber'd  shore; 
And,  as  the  lessening  wave  behind  them  flies, 
Wide  scenes  of  conflict  open  on  their  eyes. 
Roehambeau  foremost  with  his  gleamy  brand 
Points  to  each  field  and  singles  every  band,  390 

Sees  Washington  the  power  of  nations  guide 
And  longs  to  toil  and  conquer  by  his  side. 
Two  brother  chiefs,  Viominil  the  name, 
Brothers  in  birth  but  twins  in  generous  fame. 
Behold  with  stedfast  eye  the  plains  disclose, 
Uncase  their  arms  and  claim  the  promised  foes 
Biron,  beneath  his  sail,  in  armor  bright, 
Trown'd  o'er  the  wave  impatient  for  the  fight; 


56 


COLUMBIAN. 


COOK  Ml. 


A  fiery  steed  beside  the  hero  stood, 

And  his  blue  blade  waved  forward  o'er  the  crowd.     400 

With  eager  haste  descending  on  the  coast, 
Thro  the  glad  states  they  march  their  veteran  host. 
From  sea-nursed  Newport  file  o'er  western  roads, 
Pitch  many  a  camp  and  bridge  a  hundred  floods, 
Pass  the  full  towns,  where  joyful  crowds  admire 
Their  foreign  speech,  gay  mien  and  gilt  attire, 
Applaud  their  generous  deeds,  the  zeal  that  draws 
Their  swords  untried  in  freedom's  doubtful  cause. 
Thro  Hartford  plains,  on  Litchfield  hills  they  gleam, 
Wave  their  white  flags  o'er  Hudson's  loaded  stream;  4I& 
Band  after  band  with  Delaware's  current  pour, 
Shade  Schuylkill's  wave  and  Elk's  indented  shore, 
Join  their  new  friends,  where  allied  banners  leadT 
Demand  the  foe  and  bid  the  war  proceed. 

Again  Columbus  turn'd  his  anxious  eye 
Where  Britain's  banner  waved  along  the  sky; 
And,  graced  with  spoils  of  many  fields  of  blood, 
Cornwallis  boastful  on  a  bulwark  stood. 
Where  York  and  Glosters  rocky  towers  bestride 
Their  parent  stream,  Virginia's  midmost  tide, 
He  campt  his  hundred  nations  to  regain 
Their  force,  exhausted  in  the  long  campaign; 


BOOKVIT  C7MBIAD 

Paused  for  a  moment  on  a  scene  so  vast, 
To  plan  the  future  and  review  the  past. 
Thro  vanquisht  provinces  and  towns  in  flaitie 
lie  markt  his  recent  monuments  of  fame, 
His  checker'd  marches>  long  and  various  toils 
\nd  camp  well  stored  with  wide  collected  spoils. 

High  glittering  to  the  sun  his  hands  unfold 
A  map  new  drafted  on  a  sheet  of  gold; 
There  in  delusive  haste  his  burin  graved 
A  country  conquer'd  and  a  race  enslaved. 
Its  middle  realm,  by  fairer  figures  known 
And  rich  with  fruits,  lay  bounded  for  his  own; 
Deep  thro  the  centre  spreads  a  branching  bay* 
Full  sails  ascend  and  golden  rivers  stray; 
Bright  palaces  arise  relieved  in  gold, 
And  gates  and  streets  the  crossing  lines  unfold* 
James  furrows  o'er  the  plate  with  turgid  tide* 
Young  Richmond  roughtns  on  his  masted  side;         449 
Reviving  Norfolk  from  her  ashes  springs, 
A  golden  phenix  on  refulgent  wings; 
Potomac's  yellow  waves  reluctant  spread 
And  Vernon  rears  his  rich  and  radiant  head 
Tis  here  the  chief  his  pointed  graver  stays. 
The  bank  to  burnish  with  a  purer  blaze* 


?8  COLUMBIA*.  BOOK  t^J 

Gives  all  his  art,  on  this  bright  hill  to  trace 
His  future  seat  and  glory  of  his  race; 
Deems  his  long  line  of  lords  the  realm  shall  own. 
The  kings  predestined  to  Columbia's  throne. 

But  while  his  mind  thus  quafft  its  aiiy  food, 
And  gazing  thousands  round  the  rampart  stood, 
Whom  future  ease  and  gclden  dreams  employ, 
The  songs  of  triumph  and  the  feast  of  joy; 
Sudden  great  Washington  arose  in  view. 
And  allied  flags  his  stately  steps  pursue; 
Gaul's  veteran  host  and  young  Hesperia's  pride 
Bend  the  long  march  concentring  at  his  side, 
Stream  over  Chesapeak,  like  sheets  of  flame 
live  tempestuous  to  the  field  of  fame, 
n  the  wild  expanse,  where  ocean  lies 
And  scorns  all  confines  but  incumbent  skies. 
Scorns  to  re1  .printed  paths  of  men, 

To  guide  their  wanderings  or  direct  their  ken; 
Where  warring  vagrants,  raging  ~>s  they  go, 
Ask  of  the  stars  their  way  to  find  the  foe, 
Columbus  saw  two  hovering  fleets  advance. 
And  rival  ensigns  o'er  their  pinions  dance. 
Graves,  on  the  north,  with  Albion's  flag  unfiuTd. 
Waves  proud  defiance  to  the  watery  world; 


BOOK  VIL  UMBIA1*.  ;   ' 

Degrasse,  from  southern  isles,  conducts  his  train 
And  shades  with  Gallic  sheets  the  moving;  main. 

Now  Morn,  unconscious  ofrthe  coming  fray 
That  soon  shall  storm  the  crystal  cope  of  day, 
Glows  o'er  the  heavens  and  with  her  orient  breeze 
Fans  her  fair  face  and  curls  the  summer  seas. 
The  swelling  sails,  as  far  as  eye  can  sweep, 
Look  thro  the  skies  and  awe  the  shadowy  deep, 
Lead  their  long  bending  lines;  and,  ere  they  close) 
To  count,  recognise,  circumvent  their  foes,  480 

Each  hauls  his  wind,  the  weathergage  to  gain 
And  master  all  the  movements  of  the  plain; 
©r  bears  before  the  breeze  with  loftier  gait, 
And,  beam  to  beam,  begins  the  work  of  fate. 

As  when  the  warring  winds,  from  each  far  pole. 
Their  adverse  storms  across  the  concave  roll, 
Thin  fleecy  vapors  thro  the  expansion  run, 
Veil  the  blue  vault  and  tremble  o'er  the  sun, 
Till  the  dark  folding  wings  together  drive 
And,  ridged  with  fire  and  rock'd  with  thunder,  strive;  490 
So,  hazing  thro  the  void,  at  first  appear 
White  clouds  of  canvas  floating  on  the  air, 
Then  frown  the  broad  black  decks,  the  sails  are  stay'ii? 
The  gaping  portholes  cast  a  frightful  shade, 


6£T  COiXMBIAD  BOOK  Vli 

Flames  triple  tier'd  and  tides  of  smoke  arise, 
And  fulminations  rock  the  seas  and  skies. 

From  van  to  rear  the  ibaring  deluge  runs, 
The  storm  disgorging  from  a  thousand  guns-, 
Each  like  a  vast  volcano,  spouting  wide 
His  hissing  hell-dogs  o'er  the  shuddering  tide,  50C 

Whirls  high  his  chainshot,  cleaves  the  mast  and  strove 
The  shiver'd  fragments  on  the  staggering  foes; 
Whose  gunwale  sides  with  iron  globes  are  gored,. 
And  a  wild  storm  of  splinters  sweeps  the  board. 
Husht  are  the  winds  of  heaven;  no  more  the  gale 
Breaks  the  red  rolls  of  smoke  nor  flaps  the  sail; 
A  dark  dead  calm  continuous  clokes  the  glare 
And  holds  the  clouds  of  sulphur  on  the  war, 
Convolving  o'er  the  space  that  yawns  and  shines 
With  frequent  flash  between  the  laboring  lines.         51( 
Nor  sun  nor  sea  nor  skyborn  lightning  gleams, 
But  flaming  Phlegethon's  asphaltic  steams 
Streak  the  long  gaping  gulf;  where  varying  glow 
Carbonic  curls  above,  blue  flakes  of  fire  below, 

Hither  two  hostile  ships  to  contact  run, 
Both  grappling,  board  to  board  and  gun  to  gun. 
Each  thro  the  adverse  ports  their  contents  pour, 
Rak  „cks.  the  interior  timbers  bo: 


BOOK  Ml  COLUMBIA!)  6 J 

Drive  into  chinks  the  illumined  wads  unseen, 
Whose  flames  approach  the  unguarded  magazine. 
Above,  with  shrouds  afoul  and  gunwales  mann'd. 
Thick  halberds  clash;  and,  closing  hand  to  hand. 
The  huddling  troops  infuriate  from  despair 
Tug  at  the  toils  of  death  and  perish  there; 
Grenados,  carcasses  their  fragments  spread, 
And  pikes  and  pistols  strow  the  decks  with  dead 
Now  on  the  Gallic  board  the  Britons  rush, 
The  intrepid  Gauls  the  rash  adventurers  crush; 
And  now,  to  vengeance  stung,  with  frantic  air, 
Back  on  the  British  maindeck  roll  the  war. 
There  swells  the  carnage;  all  the  tar-beat  floor 
Is  clogg'd  with  spatter'd  brains  and  glued  with  gore; 
And  down  the  ship's  black  waist,  fresh  brooks  of  blood 
Course  o'er  their  clots  and  tinge  the  sable  flood. 
•ill  War,  impatient  of  the  lingering  strife 
That  tires  and  slackens  with  the  waste  of  life, 
Opes  with  ingulfing  gape  the  astonisht  wave 
,   And  whelms  the  combat  whole,  in  one  vast  grave. 
For  now  the  imprison'd  powder  caught  the  flames 
And  into  atoms  whirl'd  the  monstrous  frames  54t> 

Of  both  the  entangled  ships;  the  vortex  wide 
Roars  like  an  Etna  thro  the  belching  tide; 
Vol.  II.  F 


62  GOLUMBIAD.  BOOK  VII. 

And  blazing  into  heaven  and  bursting  high, 
Shells,  carriages  and  guns  obstruct  the  sky; 
Cords,  timbers,  trunks  of  men  the  welkin  sweep 
And  fall  on  distant  ships  or  shower  along  the  deep. 

The  matcht  armadas  still  the  fight  maintain, 
But  cautious,  distant;  lest  the  staggering  main 
Drive  their  whole  lines  afoul,  and  one  dark  day 
Glut  the  proud  ocean  with  too  rich  a  prey.  550 

At  last,  where  scattering  fires  the  cloud  disclose, 
Hulls  heave  in  sight  and  blood  the  decks  o'erflows; 
Here  from  the  field  tost  navies  rise  to  view, 
Drive  back  to  vengeance  and  the  roar  renew, 
There  shatter'd  ships  commence  their  Sight  afar, 
Tow'd  thro  the  smoke,  hard  struggling  from  the  war; 
And  some,  half  seen  amid  the  gaping  wave, 
Plunge  in  the  whirl  they  make  and  gorge  their  grave. 

Soon  the  dark  smoky  volumes  roll'd  away,  9 

And  a  long  line  ascended  into  day;  5W 

The  pinions  swell'd,  Britannia's  cross  arose 
And  flew  the  terrors  of  triumphing  foes; 
When  to  Virginia's  bay,  new  shocks  to  brave, 
The  Gallic  powers  their  conquering  banners  wave, 
Glad  Chesapeak  unfolds  his  bosom  wide 
And  ieadsTtheir  prows  to  York's  contracting  tide;. 


BOOK  Ml  !  MBIAD 

Where  still  dread  Washington  directs  his 
And  seas  and  continents  his  voice  obey; 
While  brave  Cornwallis,  mid  the  gathering  ho 
Perceives  his  glories  gone,  his  promised  empire  lo£l 

Columbus  here  with  silent  joy  beheld 
His  favorite  sons  the  fates  of  nations  wield. 
Here  joyous  Lincoln  rose  in  arms  again, 
Nelson  and  Knox  moved  ardent  o'er  the  pfc 
Scammel  alert  with  force  unusual  trod, 
Prepared  to  seal  their  victory  with  his  blood; 
Cobb,  Dearborn,  Laurens,  Tilghman,  green  in 
But  ripe  in  glory,  tower'd  amid  their  peers; 
Death  daring  Hamilton  with  splendor  shone 
And  claim'd  each  post  of  danger  for  his  o\  5d0 

Skill'd  every  arm  in  war's  whole  hell  to  wield, 
An  Ithacus  in  camp,  an  Ajax  in  the  field. 

Their  Gallic  friends  an  equal  ardor  fires; 
Brisk  emulation  every  troop  inspires: 
Where  Tarleton  turns,  with  hopes  of  fligl  I 
Brave  Biron  moves  and  drives  him  back  to  fate. 
Hems  in  his  host  to  wait  on  Gloster  plains 
Their  finisht  labors  and  their  destined  chains. 

Two  British  forts  the  growing  siege  outflank, 

ke  its  wide  works  and  awe  the  tide-beat  bank; 


64  C0LUMB1AD  iiOOK  VU. 

Swift  from  the  lines  two  chosen  bands  advance, 

Our  light  arm'd  scouts,  the  grenadiers  of  France; 

These  young  Viominil  conducts  to  fame, 

And  those  Fayette's  unerring  guidance  claim. 

No  cramm'd  cartouch  their  belted  back  attires. 

No  grains  of  sleeping  thunder  wait  their  fires; 

The  flint,  the  ramrod,  spurn'd,  away  they  casf; 

The  strong  bright  bayonet,  imbeaded  fast, 

Stands  beaming  from  the  bore;  with  this  they  tread. 

Nor  heed  from  high-wall'd  foes  their  showers  of  lead.  6CK' 

Each  rival  band,  tho  wide  and  distant  far, 

Springs  simultaneous  to  this  task  of  war; 

Tor  here  a  twofold  force  each  hero  draws, 

His  own  proud  country  and  the  general  cause; 

And  each  with  twofold  energy  contends, 

His  foes  to  vanquish  and  outstrip  his  friends. 

They  summon  all  their  zeal  and  wild  and  warm 

O'er  flaming  ramparts  pour  the  maddening  storm. 

The  mounted  cannons  crush  and  lead  the  foe 

Two  trains  of  captives  to  the  plain  below;  6 10 

An  equal  prize  each  gallant  troop  ameeds, 

Alike  their  numbers  and  alike  their  deeds. 

A  strong  high  citadel  still  thundering  stood 
And  stream'd  her  standard  o'er  the  field  of  blood. 


i  V13 

Check'd  long  the  siege  with  fulminating  blare, 

Scorn'd  all  the  steel  and  every  globe  of  war, 

Defied  feil  famine,  heapt  her  growing  store 

And  housed  in  bombproof  all  the  host  she  bore 

No  rude  assault  can  stretch  the  scale  so  high, 

In  vain  the  battering  siege-guns  round  her  ply;  62*. 

Mortars  well  poised  their  deafening  deluge  rain, 

Load  the  red  skies  and  shake  the  shores  in  vain: 

Her  huge  rock  battlements  rebound  the  blow 

And  roll  their  loose  crags  on  the  men  below. 

But  while  the  fusing  fireballs  scorch  the  sky, 
Their  mining  arts  the  stanch  besiegers  ply, 
Delve  from  the  bank  of  York  and  gallery  far, 
Deep  subterranean,  to  the  mount  of  war; 
Beneath  the  ditch,  thro  rocks  and  fens  they  go, 
Scoop  the  dark  chamber  plumb  beneath  the  foe; 
There  lodge  their  tons  of  powder  and  retire, 
Mure  the  dread  passage,  wave  the  fatal  fire, 
Send  a  swift  messenger  to  warn  the  foe 
To  seek  his  safety  and  the  post  forego. 
A  taunting  answer  comes;  he  dares  defy- 
To  spring  the  mine  and  all  its  Etnas  try; 
When  a  black  miner  seized  the  sulphur' d  brand, 
ck'd  high  for  joy  and  with  untrembling  hand 

F9 


66  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  VET. 

Toucht  quick  the  insidious  train;  lest  here  the  chief 

Should  change  his  counsel  and  afford  relief:  640 

For  hard  the  general's  task,  to  speak  the  doom 

That  sends  a  thousand  heroes  to  the  tomb; 

Heroes  who  know  no  wrong;  who  thoughtless  speed 

Where  kings  command  or  where  their  captains  lead. 

— Burst  with  the  blast,  the  reeling  mountain  roars. 

Heaves,  labors,  boils  and  thro  the  concave  pours 

His  flaming  contents  high;  he  chokes  the  air 

With  all  his  warriors  and  their  works  of  war; 

Guns,  bastions,  magazines  confounded  fly, 

Vault  wide  their  fresh  explosions  o'er  the  sky,  650 

Incumber  each  far  camp  and  plow  profound 

With  their  rude  fragments  every  neighboring  ground. 

Britain's  brave  leader,  where  he  sought  repose 
And  deem'd  his  hill-fort  still  repulsed  the  foes, 
Starts  at  the  astounding  earthquake  and  descries 
His  chosen  veterans  whirling  down  the  skies. 
Their  mangled  members  round  his  balcon  fall, 
Scorcht  in  the  flames  and  dasht  on  every  wall: 
Sad  field  of  contemplation!  here,  ye  great, 
Kings,  priests  of  God,  and  ministers  of  state,  660 

Review  your  system  here!  behold  and  scan 
Your  own  fair  deeds,  your  benefits  to  man! 


BOOK  VII.  COLUMBIAN  6,^ 

You  will  not  leave  him  to  his  natural  toil, 

To  tame  these  elements  and  till  the  soil, 

To  reap,  share,  tithe  you  what  his  hand  has  sown-, 

Enjoy  his  treasures  and  increase  your  own, 

Build  up  his  virtues  on  the  base  design'd, 

The  well  toned  harmonies  of  humankind. 

You  choose  to  check  his  toil  and  band  his  eyes 

To  all  that's  honest  and  to  all  that's  wise;  670 

Lure  with  false  fame,  false  morals  and  false  lore, 

To  barter  fields  of  corn  for  fields  of  gore, 

To  take  by  bands  what  single  thieves  would  spare, 

And  methodize  his  murders  into  war. 

Now  the  prest  garrison  fresh  danger  warms; 
They  rush  impetuous  to  each  post  of  arms, 
Man  the  long  trench,  each  embrasure  sustain 
And  pour  their  langrage  on  the  allied  train; 
Whose  swift  approaches,  crowding  on  the  line, 
Each  wing  envelop  and  each  front  confine.  680 

O'er  all  sage  Washington  his  arm  extends, 
Points  every  movement,  every  v/ork  defends, 
Bids  closer  quarters,  bloodier  strokes  proceed, 
New  batteries  blaze  and  heavier  squadrons  bleed. 
Line  within  line  fresh  parallels  inclose; 
Here  runs  a  zigzag,  there  a  mantlet  grows. 


68  COLUMBIAD  BOOK  VII 

Round  the  pent  foe  approaching  breastworks  rise, 

And  bombs  like  meteors  vault  the  flaming  skies. 

Night,  with  her  hovering  wings,  asserts  in  vain 

The  shades,  the  silence  of  her  rightful  reign;  690 

High  roars  her  canopy  with  fiery  flakes, 

And  War  stalks  wilder  thro  the  glare  he  makes. 

With  dire  dismay  the  British  chief  beheld 
The  foe  advance,  his  veterans  shun  the  field, 
Despair  and  slaughter  where  he  turns  his  eye, 
No  hope  in  combat  and  no  power  to  fly; 
Degrasse  victorious  shakes  the  shadowy  tide, 
Imbodied  nations  all  the  champaign  hide, 
Fosses  and  batteries,  growing  on  the  sight, 
Still  pour  new  thunders  and  increase  the  fight;  70(: 

Shells  rain  before  him,  rending  every  mound, 
Crags,  gunstones,  balls  o'ertum  the  tented  ground. 
From  post  to  post  his  driven  ranks  retire, 
The  earth  in  crimson  and  the  skies  on  fire. 

Death  wantons  proud  in  this  decisive  round, 
For  here  his  hand  its  favorite  victim  found; 
Brave  Scammel  perisht  here.  Ah!  short,  my  friend, 
Thy  bright  career,  but  glorious  to  its  end. 
Go  join  thy  Warren's  ghost,  your  fates  compare, 
His  that  commenced*  with  thine  that  closed  the  war: 


BOOK  VII.  COLUMJBfAD  69 

Freedom,  with  laurcl'd  brow  but  tearful  eyes, 
Bewails  her  first  and  last,  her  twinlikc  sacrifice. 

Now  grateful  truce  suspends  the  burning  war, 
And  groans  and  shouts  promiscuous  load  the  air; 
When  the  tired  Britons,  where  the  smokes  decay, 
Quit  their  strong  station  and  resign  the  day. 
Slow  files  along  the  immeasurable  train, 
Thousands  on  thousands  redden  all  the  plain, 
Furl  their  torn  bandrols,  all  their  plunder  yield 
And  pile  their  muskets  on  the  battle  field.  T2Q 

Their  wide  auxiliar  nations  swell  the  crowd, 
And  the  coopt  navies  from  the  neighboring  flood 
Repeat  surrendering  signals  and  obey 
The  landmen's  fate  on  this  concluding  day. 

Comwallis  first,  their  late  all  conquering  lord, 
Bears  to  the  victor  chief  his  conquer'd  sword, 
Presents  the  burnisht  hilt  and  yields  with  pain 
The  gift  of  kings,  here  brandisht  long  in  vain. 
Then  bow  their  hundred  banners,  trailing  far 
Their  wearied  wings  from  all  the  skirts  of  war.  730 

Battalion'd  infantry  and  squadron'd  horse 
Dash  the  silk  tassel  and  the  golden  torse; 
Flags  from  the  forts  and  ensigns  from  the  fleet 
Roll  in  the  dust  and  at  Columbia's  feet 


70  COLUMBf  flOOKVU 

Prostrate  the  pride  of  thrones;  they  firm  the  base 
Of  freedom's  temple,  while  her  arms  they  grace. 
Here  Albion's  crimson  Cross  the  soil  o'erspreads. 
Her  Lion  crouches  and  her  Thistle  fades; 
Indignant  Erin  rues  her  trampled  Lyre, 
Brunswick's  pale  Steed  forgets  his  foamy  fire, 
Proud  Hessia's  Castle  lies  in  dust  o'erthrown, 
And  venal  Anspach  quits  her  broken  Crown. 

Long  trains  of  wheePd  artillery  shade  the  shore, 
Quench  their  blue  matches  and  forget  to  roar; 
Along  the  incumber'd  plain,  thick  planted  rise 
High  stacks  of  muskets  glittering  to  the  skies, 
Numerous  and  vast.  As  when  the  toiling  swains 
Heap  their  whole  harvest  on  the  stubbly  plains, 
Gerb  after  gerb  the  bearded  shock  expands, 
Shocks,  ranged  in  rows,  hill  high  the  burden'd  lands;  750 
The  joyous  master  numbers  all  the  piles 
And  o'er  his  well  earn'd  crop  complacent  smiles: 
Such  growing  heaps  this  iron  harvest  yield, 
So  tread  the  victors  this  their  final  field. 

Triumphant  Washington  with  brow  serene, 
Regards  unmoved  the  exhilarating  scene, 
Weighs  in  his  balanced  thought  the  silent  grief 
That  sinks  the  bosom  of  the  fallen  chief, 


ttUOKWI  COLUMBIA!)  71 

With  all  the  joy  that  laurel  crowns  bestow , 

A  world  reconquer'd  and  a  vanquisht  foe.  760 

Thus  thro  extremes  of  life,  in  every  state, 

Shines  the  clear  soul,  beyond  all  fortune  great, 

While  smaller  minds,  the  dupes  of  fickle  chance, 

Slight  woes  o'erwhelm  and  sudden  joys  entrance. 

So  the  full  sun,  thro  all  the  changing  sky, 

Nor  blasts  nor  overpowers  the  naked  eye; 

Tho  transient  splendors,  borrow'd  from  his  light. 

Glance  on  the  mirror  and  destroy  the  sight. 

He  bids  brave  Lincoln  guide  with  modest  air 
The  last  glad  triumph  of  the  finisht  war; 
Who  sees,  once  more,  two  armies  shade  one  plain, 
The  mighty  victors  and  the  captive  trair 


I  HE 


COLUMBIA!). 

ROOK  VTII 


Vor..  II.  G 


ARGUMENT. 

Hymn  to  Peace.  Eulogy  on  the  heroes  slain  in  the  war; 
in  which  the  Author  finds  occasion  to  mention  his  Brother. 
Address  to  the  patriots  who  have  survived  the  conflict; 
exhorting  them  to  preserve  the  liberty  they  have  estab- 
lished. The  danger  of  losing  it  by  inattention  illustrated 
in  the  rape  of  the  Golden  Fleece.  Freedom  succeeding  to 
Despotism  in  the  moral  world,  like  Order  succeeding  to 
Chaos  in  the  physical  world.  Atlas,  the  guardian  Genius 
of  Africa,  denounces  to  Hesper  the  crimes  of  his  people 
in  the  slavery  of  the  Africans.  The  Author  addresses  his 
countrymen  on  that  subject  and  on  the  principles  of  their 
government. 

Hesper,  recurring  to  his  object  of  showing  Columbus 
the  importance  of  his  discoveries,  reverses  the  order  of 
time,  and  exhibits  the  continent  again  in  its  savage  state. 
He  then  displays  the  progress  of  arts  in  America.  Fur 
trade.  Fisheries.  Productions.  Commerce.  Education. 
Philosophical  discoveries.  Painting.  Poetry. 


THE 


COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  VIII. 

XX AIL,  holy  Peace,  from  thy  sublime  abode 
Mid  circling  saints  that  grace  the  throne  of  God. 
Before  his  arm,  around  our  embryon  earth, 
Stretcht  the  dim  void  and  gave  to  nature  birth, 
Ere  morning  stars  his  glowing  chambers  hung, 
Or  songs  of  gladness  woke  an  angel's  tongue, 
Veil'd  in  the  splendors  of  his  beamful  mind, 
In  blest  repose  thy  placid  form  reclined, 
Lived  in  his  life,  his  inward  sapience  caught, 
And  traced  and  toned  his  universe  of  thought.  10 

Borne  thro  the  expanse  with  his  creating  voice 
Thy  presence  bade  the  unfolding  worlds  rejoice, 
Led  forth  the  systems  on  their  bright  career, 
Shaped  all  their  curves  and  fashion'd  every  sphere,, 


76  COLUMBIA!)  COOK  Mil. 

Spaced  out  their  suns,  and  round  each  radiant  goal, 
Orb  over  orb,  compell'd  their  train  to  roll, 
Bade  heaven's  own  harmony  their  force  combine, 
Taught  all  their  host  symphonious  strains  to  join, 
Gave  to  seraphic  harps  their  sounding  lays, 
Their  joys  to  angels  and  to  men  their  praise. 

From  scenes  of  blood,  these  verdant  shores  that  stain* 
From  numerous  friends  in  recent  battle  slain, 
From  blazing  towns  that  scorch  the  purple  sky, 
From  houseless  hordes,  their  smoking  walls  that  fly. 
From  the  black  prison  ships,  those  groaning  graves, 
From  warring  fleets  that  vex  the  gory  waves, 
From  a  storm'd  world,  long  taught  thy  flight  to  mourn, 
T  rise,  delightful  Peace,  and  greet  thy  glad  return. 

For  now  the  untuneful  trump  shall  grate  no  more; 
Ye  silver  streams,  no  longer  swell  with  gore,  SO 

Bear  from  your  war-beat  banks  the  guilty  stain 
With  yon  retiring  navies  to  the  main. 
While  other  views,  unfolding  on  my  eyes, 
And  happier  themes  bid  bolder  numbers  rise; 
Bring,  bounteous  Peace,  in  thy  celestial  throng. 
Life  to  my  soul  and  rapture  to  my  song; 
Give  me  to  trace,  with  pure  unclouded  ray* 
The  arts  and  virtues  that  attend  thv  swav. 


BOOK  VIII.  COLUMBIA!)  „4  7 

To  sec  thy  blissful  charms,  that  here  descend, 

Thro  distant  realms  and  endless  years  extend.  40 

Too  long  the  groans  of  death  and  battle's  bray 
Have  rung  discordant  thro  my  turgid  lay: 
The  drum's  rude  clang,  the  war  wolf's  hideous  howl 
Convulsed  my  nerves  and  agonized  my  soul, 
Untuned  the  harp  for  all  but  misery's  pains 
And  chased  the  Muse  from  corse -incumber'd  plains. 
Let  memory's  balm  its  pious  fragrance  shed 
On  heroes'  wounds  and  patriot  warriors  dead; 
Accept,  departed  Shades,  these  grateful  sighs, 
Your  fond  attendants  thro  your  homeward  skies.  60 

And  thou,  my  earliest  friend,  my  Brother  dear, 

Thy  fall  untimely  still  renews  my  tear. 

In  youthful  sports,  in  toils,  in  taste  allied, 

My  kind  companion  and  my  faithful  guide, 

When  death's  dread  summons,  from  our  infant  eyes> 

Had  call'd  our  last  loved  parent  to  the  skies. 

Tho  young  in  arms  and  still  obscure  thy  name, 

Thy  bosom  panted  for  the  deeds  of  fame; 

Beneath  Montgomery's  eye,  when  by  thy  steel 

In  northern  wilds  the  frequent  savage  fell.  6n 

Fired  by  his  voice  and  foremost  at  his  call 

To  mount  the  breach  or  scale  the  flamy  wall, 

G  3 


,3.  COLUMBIAD.  BO 

Thy  daring  hand  had  many  a  laurel  gain'd, 
If  years  had  ripen'd  what  thy  fancy  feign'd. 
Lamented  Youth!  when  thy  great  leader  bled, 
Thro  the  same  wound  thy  parting  spirit  fled, 
Join'd  the  long  train,  the  self-devoted  band, 
The  gods,  the  saviors,  of  their  native  land. 

On  fame's  high  pinnacle  their  names  shall  shine, 
Unending  ages  greet  the  group  divine,  70 

Whose  holy  hands  our  banners  first  unfurl'd 
And  conquer'd  freedom  for  the  grateful  world. 

And  you,  their  peers,  whose  steel  avenged  their  blood. 
Whose  breasts  with  theirs  our  sacred  rampart  stood, 
Illustrious  relics  of  a  thousand  fields! 
To  you  at  last  the  foe  reluctant  yields. 
But  tho  the  Muse,  too  prodigal  of  praise, 
Dares  with  the  dead  your  living  worth  to  raise, 
Think  not,  my  friends,  the  patriot's  task  is  done, 
Or  Freedom  safe,  because  the  battle's  won.  80 

Unnumber'd  foes,  far  different  arms  that  wield, 
Wait  the  weak  moment  when  she  quits  her  shield, 
To  plunge  in  her  bold  breast  the  insidious  dart 
Or  pour  keen  poison  round  her  thoughtless  heart. 
Perhaps  they  '11  strive  her  votaries  to  divide, 

i  rn  their  own  veins  to  draw  the  vital  tide; 


BOOKVm.  COL1  70 

Perhaps,  by  cooler  calculation  shown, 

Create  materials  to  construct  a  throne, 

Dazzle  her  guardians  with  the  glare  of  state, 

Corrupt  with  power,  with  borrow'd  pomp  inflate,         90 

Bid  thro  the  land  the  soft  infection  creep, 

Whelm  all  her  sons  in  one  lethargic  sleep, 

Crush  her  vast  empire  in  its  brilliant  birth 

And  chase  the  goddess  from  the  ravaged  earth. 

The  dragon  thus,  that  watcht  the  Colchian  fleece, 
FoiPd  the  fierce  warriors  of  wide  plundering  Greece; 
Warriors  of  matchless  might  and  wondrous  birth, 
Jove's  sceptred  sons  and  demigods  of  earth. 
High  on  the  sacred  tree,  the  glittering  prize 
Hangs  o'er  its  guard  and  fires  the  warriors'  eyes;        100 
First  their  hurl'd  spears  his  spiral  folds  assail, 
Their  spears  fall  pointless  from  his  flaky  mail; 
Onward  with  dauntless  swords  they  plunge  amain; 
He  shuns  their  blows,  recoils  his  twisting  train, 
Darts  forth  his  forky  tongue,  heaves  high  in  air 
His  fiery  crest  and  sheds  a  hideous  glare, 
Champs,  churns  his  poisonous  juice  and  hissing  loud 
Spouts  thick  the  stifling  tempest  o'er  the  crowd; 
Then,  with  one  sweep  of  convoluted  train, 
Rolls  back  all  Greece  and  besoms  wide  the  plain. 


SG  60LUMBIAD.  BOOK  Vir?. 

O'erturns  the  sons  of  gods,  dispersing  far 

The  pirate  horde  and  closes  quick  the  war. 

From  his  red  jaws  tremendous  triumph  roars, 

Dark  Euxine  trembles  to  its  distant  shores, 

Proud  Jason  starts  confounded  in  his  might, 

Leads  back  his  peers  and  dares  no  more  the  fight. 

But  the  sly  Priestess  brings  her  opiate  spell, 

Soft  charms  that  hush  the  triple  hound  of  hell, 

Bids  Orpheus  tune  his  all  enchanting  lyre 

And  join  to  calm  the  guardian's  sleepless  ire.  120 

Soon  from  the  tepid  ground  blue  vapors  rise, 

And  sounds  melodious  move  along  the  skies; 

A  settling  tremor  thro  his  folds  extends, 

His  crest  contracts,  his  rainbow  neck  unbends, 

O'er  all  his  hundred  hoops  the  languor  crawls, 

Each  curve  develops,  every  volute  falls, 

His  broad  back  flattens  as  he  spreads  the  plain, 

And  sleep  consigns  him  to  his  lifeless  reign. 

Flusht  at  the  sight  the  pirates  seize  the  spoil, 

And  ravaged  Colchis  rues  the  insidious  toil.  130 

Yes!  fellow  freemen,  sons  of  high  renown, 
Chant  your  loud  peans  weave  your  civic  crown; 
But  know,  the  goddess  you've  so  long  adored, 
Tho  now  she  scabbards  your  avenging  sword. 


BOOK  VIII.  UOLUMBIAD  8  I 

Calls  you  to  vigilance?  to  manlier  cares, 

To  prove  in  peace  the  men  she  proved  invar 

Superior  task!  severer  test  of  soul! 

Tis  here  bold  virtue  plays  her  noblest  role 

And  merits  most  of  praise.  The  warrior  s  name, 

Tho  peal'd  and  chimed  on  all  the  tongues  of  fame,     140 

Sounds  less  harmonious  to  the  grateful  mind 

Than  his  who  fashions  and  improves  mankind. 

And  what  high  meed  your  new  vocation  waits! 
Freedom,  parturient  with  a  hundred  states, 
Confides  them  to  your  hand;  the  nascent  prize 
Claims  all  your  care,  your  soundest  wisdom  tries. 
Ah  nurture,  temper,  train  your  infant  charge, 
Its  force  develop  and  its  life  enlarge, 
Unfold  each  day  some  adolescent  grace, 
Some  right  recognise  or  some  duty  trace;  150 

Mold  a  fair  model  for  the  realms  of  earth, 
Call  moral  nature  to  a  second  birth, 
Reach,  renovate  the  world's  great  social  plan 
And  here  commence  the  sober  sense  of  man. 

For  lo  in  other  climes  and  elder  states 
What  strange  inversion  all  his  works  awaits! 
From  age  to  age,  on  every  peopled  shore, 
Stalks  the  fell  Demon  of  despotic  power, 


82  COLUMBIAN.  BOOK  VIII. 

Sweeps  in  his  march  the  mounds  of  art  away, 
Blots  with  his  breath  the  trembling  disk  of  day,         1 60 
Treads  down  whole  nations  every  stride  he  takes 
And  wraps  their  labors  in  his  fiery  flakes. 

As  Anarch  erst  around  his  regions  hurl'd 
The  wrecks,  long  crusht  of  time's  anterior  world; 
While  nature  mourn'd,  in  wild  confusion  tost, 
Her  suns  extinguisht  and  her  systems  lost; 
Light,  life  and  instinct  shared  the  dreary  trance, 
And  gravitation  fled  the  field  of  chance; 
No  laws  remain'd  of  matter,  motion,  space; 
Time  lost  his  count,  the  universe  his  place;  •  170 

Till  Order  came  in  her  cerulean  robes 
And  launcht  and  rein'd  the  renovated  globes, 
Stock'd  with  harmonious  worlds  the  vast  Inane, 
Archt  her  new  heaven  and  fixt  her  boundless  reign: 
So  kings  convulse  the  moral  frame,  the  base 
Of  all  the  codes  that  can  accord  the  race; 
And  so  from  their  broad  grasp,  their  deadly  ban, 
Tis  yours  to  snatch  this  earth,  to  raise  regenerate  man. 

My  friends,  I  love  your  fame;  I  joy  to  raise 
The  high  toned  anthem  of  my  country's  praise;         180 
To  sing  her  victories,  virtues,  wisdom,  weal, 
Boast  with  loud  voice  the  patriot  pride  I  feel; 


BOOK  Vlir.  (  OLUMBIAD  8J 

Warm  wild  I  sing;  and,  to  her  failings  blind* 
Mislead  myself,  perhaps  mislead  mankind. 
Land  that  I  love!  is  this  the  whole  we  owe? 
Thy  pride  to  pamper,  thy  fair  face  to  show; 
Dwells  there  no  blemish  where  sucli  glories  shine 
And  lurks  no  spot  in  that  bright  sun  of  thine? 
Hark!  a  dread  voice,  with  heaven-astounding  strain, 
Swells  like  a  thousand  thunders  o'er  the  main, 
Rolls  and  reverberates  around  thy  hills, 
And  Hesper's  heart  with  pangs  paternal  fills. 
Thou  hearst  him  not;  tis  Atlas,  throned  sublime, 
Great  brother  guardian  of  old  Afric's  clime; 
High  o'er  his  coast  he  rears  his  frowning  form, 
O'erlooks  and  calms  his  sky -borne  fields  of  storm, 
Flings  off  the  clouds  that  round  his  shoulders  hung 
And  breaks  from  clogs  of  ice  his  trembling  tongue; 
While  far  thro  space  with  rage  and  grief  he  glares, 
Heaves  his  hoar  head  and  shakes  the  heaven  he  bear-  \ 
— Son  of  my  sire!  Oh  latest  brightest  birth 
That  sprang  from  his  fair  spouse,  prolific  earth! 
Great  Hesper,  say  what  sordid  ceaseless  hate 
Impels  thee  thus  to  mar  my  elder  state? 
Our  sire  assign'd  thee  thy  more  glorious  reign. 
Secured  and  bounded  by  our  laboring  mail 


*R  COLUMBIAD.  boo:; 

That  main  (tho  stiil  my  birthright  name  it  bear) 
Thy  sails  o'ershadow,  thy  brave  children  share; 
I  grant  it  thus;  while  air  surrounds  the  ball, 
Let  breezes  blow,  let  oceans  roll  for  all. 
But  thy  proud  sons,  a  strange  ungenerous  race, 
Enslave  my  tribes,  and  each  fair  world  disgrace, 
Provoke  wide  vengeance  on  their  lawless  land, 
The  bolt  ill  placed  in  thy  forbearing  hand. — 
Enslave  my  tribes!  then  boast  their  cantons  free, 
Preach  faith  and  justice,  bend  the  sainted  knee, 
Invite  all  men  their  liberty  to  share, 
Seek  public  peace,  defy  the  assaults  of  war, 
Plant,  reap,  consume,  enjoy  their  fearless  toil, 
Tame  their  wild  floods  to  fatten  still  their  soil,  220 

Enrich  all  nations  with  their  nurturing  store 
'And  rake  with  venturous  fluke  each  wondering  shore.— 
Enslave  my  tribes!  what,  half  mankind  imban, 
Then  read,  expound,  enforce  the  rights  of  man! 
Prove  plain  and  clear  how  nature's  hand  of  old 
Cast  all  men  equal  in  her  human  mold! 
Their  fibres,  feelings,  reasoning  powers  the  same, 
Like  wants  await  them,  like  desires  inflame. 
Thro  former  times  with  learned  book  they  tread, 
Revise  past  ages  and  rejudge  the  dead. 


BOOK  VIII  17MBIAB  85 

Write,  speak,  avenge,  for  ancient  sufferings  fo 

Impale  each  tyrant  on  their  pens  of  steel, 

Declare  how  freemen  can  a  world  create, 

And  slaves  and  masters  ruin  every  state. — 

Enslave  my  tribes!  and  think,  with  dumb  disdain, 

To  scape  this  arm  and  prove  my  vengeance  vain! 

But  look!  me  thinks  beneath  my  foot  I  ken 

A  few  chain'd  things  that  seem  no  longer  men; 

Thy  sons  perchance!  whom  Barbary's  coast  can  tell 

The  sweets  of  that  loved  scourge  they  wield  so  well.  240 

Link'd  in  aline,  beneath  the  driver's  goad, 

See  how  they  stagger  with  their  lifted  load; 

The  shoulder'd  rock,  just  wrencht  from  off  my  hill 

And  wet  with  drops  their  straining  orbs  distil, 

Galls,  grinds  them  sore,  along  the  rampart  led, 

And  the  chain  clanking  counts  the  steps  they  tread. 

By  night  close  bolted  in  the  bagnio's  gloom, 
Think  how  they  ponder  on  their  dreadful  doom* 
Recal  the  tender  sire,  the  weeping  bride, 
The  home,  far  sunder'd  by  a  waste  of  tide,  J  5i> 

Brood  all  the  ties  that  once  endcar'd  them  there, 
But  now,  strung  stronger,  edge  their  keen  des]; 
Till  here  a  fouler  fiend  arrests  their  pace: 
Plague,  with  his  burning  breath  and  bloated  face. 

Vol.  II.  H 


86  COLUMBIAB.  BOOK  YllL 

With  safiron  eyes  that  thro  the  dungeon  shine, 

And  the  black  tumors  bursting  from  the  groin, 

Stalks  o'er  the  slave;  who,  cowering  on  the  sod, 

Shrinks  from  the  Demon  and  invokes  his  God, 

Sucks  hot  contagion  with  his  quivering  breath 

And  rack'd  with  rending  torture  sinks  in  death.         260 

Nor  shall  these  pangs  atone  the  nation's  crime; 
Tar  heavier  vengeance,  in  the  march  of  time, 
Attends  them  still;  if  still  they  dare  debase 
And  hold  inthrall'd  the  millions  of  my  race; 
A  vengeance  that  shall  shake  the  world's  deep  frame, 
That  heaven  abhors  and  hell  might  shrink  to  name. 
Nature,  long  outraged,  delves  the  crusted  sphere 
And  molds  the  mining  mischief  dark  and  drear; 
Europatoo  the  penal  shock  shall  find, 
The  rude  soul-selling  monsters  of  mankind.  270 

Where  Alps  and  Andes  at  their  bases  meet, 
In  earth's  mid  caves  to  lock  their  granite  feet, 
Heave  their  broad  spines,  expand  each  breathing  lobe 
\rid  with  their  massy  members  rib  the  globe, 
Her  cauldron'd  floods  of  fire  their  blast  prepare; 
Her  wallowing  womb  of  subterranean  war 
Waits  but  the  fissure  that  my  wave  shall  find, 
To  force  the  foldings  of  the  rocky  rind. 


BOOK  Mil.  COLIWIIUAD  87 

Crash  your  curst  continent,  and  whirl  on  high 

The  vast  avulsion  vaulting  thro  the  sky, 

Fling  far  the  bursting  fragments,  scattering  wide 

Rocks,  mountains,  nations  o'er  the  swallowing  tide 

Plunging  and  surging  with  alternate  sweep, 

They  storm  the  day-vault  and  lay  bare  the  deep, 

Toss,  tumble,  plow  their  place,  then  slow  subside, 

And  swell  each  ocean  as  their  bulk  they  hide; 

Two  oceans  dasht  in  one!  that  climbs  and  roars, 

And  seeks  in  vain  the  exterminated  shores, 

The  deep  drencht  hemisphere.  Far  sunk  from  day, 

It  crumbles,  rolls,  it  churns  the  settling  sea, 

Turns  up  each  prominence,  heaves  every  side, 

To  pierce  once  more  the  landless  length  of  tide: 

Till  some  poised  Pambamarca  looms  at  last 

A  dim  lone  island  in  the  watery  waste, 

Mourns  all  his  minor  mountains  wreck'd  and  hurl'd. 

Stands  the  sad  relic  of  a  ruin'd  world. 

Attests  the  wrath  our  mother  kept  in  store 

And  rues  her  judgments  on  the  race  she  bore. 

No  saving  Ark  around  him  rides  the  main. 

Nor  Dove  weak-wing'd  her  footing  finds  again; 

His  own  bald  eagle  skims  alone  the  sky, 

k Darts  from  all  points  of  heaven  her  searching  ever 


-88  '■OLUMBIAD.  BOOK  V 

Kens  thro  the  gloom  her  ancient  rock  of  rest 
And  finds  her  cavern'd  crag,  her  solitary  nest. 

Thus  toned  the  Titan  his  tremendous  knell 
And  lasht  his  ocean  to  a  loftier  swell; 
Earth  groans  responsive  and  with  laboring  woes 
Leans  o'er  the  surge  and  stills  the  storm  he  throws. 
Fathers  and  friends,  I  know  the  boding  fears 
Of  angry  genii  and  of  rending  spheres  3l6 

tail  not  souls  like  yours;  whom  science  bright 
Thro  shadowy  nature  leads  with  surer  light; 
For  whom  she  strips  the  heavens  of  love  and  hate, 
Strikes  from  Jove's  hand  the  brandisht  bolt  of  .ate, 
Gives  each  effect  its  own  indubious  cause, 
Divides  her  moral  from  her  physic  laws, 
Shows  where  the  virtues  find  their  nurturing  food, 
And  men  their  motives  to  be  just  and  good. 
You  scorn  the  Titan's  threat;  nor  shall  I  strain 
The  powers  of  pathos  in  a  task  so  vain  320. 

As  Afric's  wrongs  to  sing;  for  what  avails 
To  harp  for  you  these  known  familiar  tales; 
To  tongue  mute  misery,  and  re-rack  the  soul 
With  crimes  oft  copied  from  that  bloody  scroll 
Where  Slavery  pens  her  woes?  tho  tis  but  there 
We  learn  the  weight  that  mortal  life  can  bear 


BOOK  VUI,  COLIWIBIAD  89 

The  tale  might  startle  still  the  accustom'd  ear, 
Still  shake  the  nerve  that  pumps  the  pearly  tear, 
Melt  every  heart  and  thro  the  nation  gain 
Full  many  a  voice  to  break  t!:e  barbarous  chain. 
But  why  to  sympathy  for  guidance  fly, 
(Her  aids  uncertain  and  of  scant  supply) 
When  your  own  self-excited  sense  affords 
A  guide  more  sure,  and  every  sense  accords? 
Where  strong  self-interest  join'd  with  duty  lies.- 
Where  doing  right  demands  no  sacrifice, 
Where  profit,  pleasure,  life-expaiiciing  fame 
League  their  allurements  to  support  the  claim, 
Tis  safest  there  the  impleaded  cause  to  trust; 
Men  well  instructed  will  be  always  just. 

From  slavery  then  your  rising  realms  to  save, 
Regard  the  master,  notice  not  the  slave; 
Consult  alone  for  freemen  and  bestow 
Your  best,  your  only  cares  to  keep  them  so. 
Tyrants  are  never  free;  and  small  and  great; 
All  masters  must  be  tyrants  soon  or  late; 
So  nature  works;  and  oft  the  lordling  knave 
Turns  out  at  once  a  tyrant  and  a  slave, 
Struts,  cringes,  bullies,  begs,  as  courtiers  must. 

Makes  one  a  god,  another  treads  in  dust, 

H2 


90  TMBIAD.  >KVI1I. 

Fears  all  alike  and  filches  whom  he  can. 
But  knows  no  equal,  finds  no  friend  in  man. 

Ah,  would  you  not  be  slaves,  with  lords  and  kings. 
Then  be  not  masters;  there  the  danger  springs. 
The  whole  crude  system  that  torments  this  earth. 
Of  rank,  privation,  privilege  of  birth, 
False  honor,  fraud,  corruption,  civil  jars, 
The  rage  of  conquest  and  the  curse  of  wars, 
Pandora's  total  shower,  all  ills  combined 
That  erst  o'erwhelm'd  and  still  distress  mankind, 
Boxt  up  secure  in  your  deliberate  hand, 
Wait  your  behest  to  fix  or  fly  this  land. 

Equality  of  Right  is  nature's  plan; 
And  following  nature  is  the  march  of  man. 
Whene'er  he  deviates  in  the  least  degree, 
When,  free  himself,  he  would  be  more  than  free. 
The  baseless  column  rear'd  to  bear  his  bust, 
Falls  as  he  mounts  and  whelms  him  in  the  dust. 

See  Rome's  rude  sires,  with  autocratic  gait, 
Tread  down  their  tyrant  and  erect  their  state;  37< ■ 

Their  state  secured,  they  deem  it  wise  and  brave 
That  every  freeman  should  command  a  slave, 
And,  flusht  with  franchise  of  his  camp  and  town, 
Rove  thro  the  world  and  hunt  the  nations  down: 


BOOK  Mil.  I  WBIAD  t)l 

Master  and  man  the  same  vile  spirit  gains, 

Rome  chains  the  world  and  wears  herself  the  chains. 

Mark  modern  Europe  with  her  feudal  codes, 
Serfs,  villains,  vassals,  nobles,  kings  and  gods, 
All  slaves  of  different  grades,  corrupt  and  curst 
With  high  and  low,  for  senseless  rank  athirst,  380 

Wage  endless  wars;  not  fighting  to  be  free, 
But  cujum  fiecttS)  whose  base  herd  they  '11  be. 

Too  much  of  Europe,  here  transplanted  o'er, 
Nursed  feudal  feelings  on  your  tented  shore* 
Brought  sable  serfs  from  Afric,  call'd  it  gain, 
And  urged  your  sires  to  forge  the  fatal  chain. 
But  now,  the  tents  o'erturn'd,  the  war  dogs  fled, 
Now  fearless  Freedom  rears  at  last  her  head 
Matcht  with  celestial  Peace, — my  friends,  beware 
To  shade  the  splendors  of  so  bright  a  pair;  39$ 

Complete  their  triumph,  fix  their  firm  abode, 
Purge  all  privations  from  your  liberal  code, 
Restore  their  souls  to  men,  give  earth  repose 
And  save  your  sons  from  slavery,  wars  and  woes. 

Based  on  its  rock  of  right  your  empire  lies, 
On  walls  of  wisdom  let  the  fabric  rise; 
Preserve  your  principles,  their  force  unfold, 
Let  nations  prove  them  and  let  kings  behold 


92  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  XiU 

Equality,  your  first  firm-grounded  stand; 

Then  free  election;  then  your  federal  band;    400 

This  holy  Triad  should  for  ever  shine 

The  great  compendium  of  all  rights  divine, 

Creed  of  all  schools,  whence  youths  by  millions  draw 

Their  themes  of  right,  their  decalogues  of  law; 

Till  men  shall  wonder  (in  these  codes  inured) 

How  wars  were  made,  how  tyrants  were  endured. 

Then  shall  your  works  of  art  superior  rise, 
Your  fruits  perfume  a  larger  length  of  skies, 
Canals  careering  climb  your  sunbright  hills, 
Vein  the  green  slopes  and  strow  their  nurturing  rills,  410 
Thro  tunnePd  heights  and  sundering  ridges  glide, 
Rob  the  rich  west  of  half  Kenhawa's  tide, 
Mix  your  wide  climates,  all  their  stores  confound 
And  plant  new  ports  in  every  midland  mound. 
Your  lawless  Missisippi,  now  who  slimes 
And  drowns  and  desolates  his  waste  of  climes, 
Ribb'd  with  your  dikes,  his  torrent  shall  restrain 
And  ask  your  leave  to  travel  to  the  main; 
Won  from  his  wave  while  rising  cantons  smile, 
Rear  their  glad  nations  and  reward  their  toil.  43( 

Thus  Nile's  proud  flood  to  human  hands  of  yore 
Raised  and  resign'd  his  tide-created  shore, 


BOOK  VHf  COLUMBIAD. 

Call'd  from  his  Ethiop  hills  their  hardy  swuins 

And  waved  their  harvest  o'er  his  newborn  plains; 

Earth's  richest  realm  from  his  tamed  current  sprung; 

There  nascent  science  toned  her  infant  tongue, 

Taught  the  young  arts  their  tender  force  to  try. 

To  state  the  seasons  and  unfold  the  sky; 

Till  o'er  the  world  extended  and  refined, 

They  rule  the  destinies  of  humankind.  4&G 

Now  had  Columbus  well  enjoy'd  the  sight 
Of  armies  vanquish!  and  of  fleets  in  flight, 
From  all  Hesperia's  heaven  the  darkness  flown. 
And  colon  crowds  to  sovereign  sages  grown. 
To  cast  new  glories  o'er  the  changing  clime, 
The  guardian  Power  reversed  the  flight  of  time, 
Roll'dback  the  years  that  led  their  course  before, 
Stretcht  out  immense  the  wild  uncultured  shore; 
Then  shifts  the  total  scene  and  rears  to  view 
Arts  and  the  men  that  useful  arts  pursue.  440 

As  o'er  the  canvas  when  the  painter's  mind 
Glows  with  a  future  landscape  well  design'd, 
While  Panorama's  wondrous  aid  he  calls 
To  crowd  whole  realms  within  his  circling  walls* 
Lakes,  fields  and  forests,  ports  and  navies  rise, 
A  new  creation  to  his  kindling  eyes; 


94  COLUMBIAN.  BOOK  VBI 

He  smiles  o'er  all;  and  in  delightful  strife 

The  pencil  moves  and  calls  the  whole  to  life. 

So  while  Columbia's  patriarch  stood  sublime 

And  saw  rude  nature  clothe  the  trackless  clime;        450 

The  green  banks  heave,  the  winding  currents  pour, 

The  bays  and  harbors  cleave  the  yielding  shore, 

The  champaigns  spread,  the  solemn  groves  arise 

And  the  rough  mountains  lengthen  round  the  skies; 

Thro  all  their  bounds  he  traced  with  skilful  ken 

The  unform'd  seats  and  future  walks  of  men; 

Markt  where  the  field  should  bloom,  the  pennon  play, 

Great  cities  grow  and  empires  claim  their  sway; 

When,  sudden  waked  by  Hesper's  waving  hand, 

They  rose  obedient  round  the  cultured  land.  460 

In  western  tracts,  where  still  the  wildmen  tread, 
From  sea  to  sea  an  inland  commerce  spread; 
On  the  dim  streams  and  thro  the  gloomy  grove 
The  trading  bands  their  cumbrous  burdens  move; 
Furs,  peltry,  drugs,  and  all  the  native  store 
Of  midland  realms  descended  to  the  shore. 

Where  summer  suns,  along  the  northern  coasts 
With  feeble  force  dissolve  the  chains  of  frost, 
Prolific  waves  the  scaly  nations  trace 
And  tempt  the  toils  of  man's  laborious  race.  470 


BOOK  VIII.  LUMBIAD. 

Tho  rich  Brazilian  strands,  beneath  the  tide, 

Their  shells  of  pearl  and  sparkling  pebbles  hide, 

While  for  the  gaudy  prize,  a  venturous  train 

Plunge  the  dark  deep  and  brave  the  surging  main-) 

Drag  forth  the  shining  gewgaws  into  air 

To  stud  a  sceptre  or  emblaze  a  star; 

Far  wealthier  stores  these  genial  tides  display, 

And  works  less  dangerous  with  their  spoils  repay. 

The  Hero  saw  the  hardy  crews  advance, 

Cast  the  long  line  and  aim  the  barbed  lance,  480 

Load  the  deep  floating  barks  and  bear  abroad 

To  every  land  the  life -sustaining  food; 

Renascent  swarms  by  nature's  care  supplied, 

Repeople  still  the  shoals  and  fin  the  fruitful  tide. 

Where  southern  streams  thro  broad  savannas  bend, 
The  rice-clad  vales  their  verdant  rounds  extend; 
Tobago's  plant  its  leaf  expanding  yields, 
The  maiz  luxuriant  clothes  a  thousand  fields; 
Steeds,  herds  and  nocks  o'er  northern  regions  rove, 
Imbrown  the  hill  and  wanton  thro  the  grove.  49€ 

I  The  woodlands  wild  their  sturdy  honors  bend, 
The  pines,  the  liveoaks  to  the  shores  descend, 
There  couch  the  keels,  the  crooked  ribs  arise, 
I    Hulls  heave  aloft  and  mastheads  mount  the  skies: 


96  COLUMBIA!)  BOOK  VI*. 

Launcht  on  the  deep  o'er  every  wave  they  fly, 
Feed  tropic  isles  and  Europe's  looms  supply. 

To  nurse  the  arts  and  fashion  freedom's  lore 
Young  schools  of  science  rise  along  the  shore;   " 
Great  without  pomp  their  modest  walls  expand, 
Harvard  and  Yale  and  Princeton  grace  the  land,        500 
Penn's  student  halls  his  youths  with  gladness  greet, 
On  James's  bank  Virginian  Muses  meet, 
Manhattan's  mart  collegiate  domes  command, 
Bosom'd  in  groves,  see  growing  Dartmouth  stand; 
Bright  o'er  its  realm  reflecting  solar  fires, 
On  yon  tall  hill  Rhode  Island's  seat  aspires. 

Thousands  of  humbler  name  around  them  rise. 
Where  homebred  freemen  seize  the  solid  prize; 
Fixt  in  small  spheres,  with  safer  beams  to  shine, 
They  reach  the  useful  and  refuse  the  fine,  510 

Found,  on  its  proper  base,  the  social  plan, 
The  broad  plain  truths,  the  common  sense  of  man, 
His  obvious  wants,  his  mutual  aids  discern, 
His  rights  familiarize,  his  duties  learn, 
Feel  moral  fitness  all  its  force  dilate, 
Embrace  the  village  and  comprise  the  state. 
Each  rustic  here  who  turns  the  furrow'd  soil, 
The  maid,  the  youth  that  ply  mechanic  toil, 


BOOK  Vni  COLUMBIA!)  9T 

In  equal  rights,  in  useful  arts  inured, 

Know  their  just  claims  and  see  their  claims  secured: 

They  watch  their  delegates,  each  law  revise, 

Its  faults  designate  and  its  merits  prize, 

Obey,  but  scrutinize;  and  let  the  test 

Of  sage  experience  prove  and  fix  the  best. 

Here,  fired  by  virtue's  animating  flame, 

The  preacher's  task  persuasive  sages  claim, 

To  mold  religion  to  the  moral  mind, 

In  bands  of  peace  to  harmonize  mankind, 

To  life,  to  light,  to  promised  joys  above 

The  soften'd  soul  with  ardent  hope  to  move.  530 

No  dark  intolerance  blinds  the  zealous  throng, 

No  arm  of  power  attendant  on  their  tongue; 

Vext  Inquisition  with  her  flaming  brand 

Shuns  their  mild  march  nor  dares  approach  the  land,, 

Tho  different  creeds  their  priestly  robes  denote^ 

Their  orders  various  and  their  rites  remote, 

Yet  one  their  voice,  their  labors  all  combined, 

Lights  of  the  world  and  friends  of  humankind. 

So  the  bright  galaxy  o'er  heaven  displays 

Of  various  stars  the  same  unbounded  blaze;  540 

Where  great  and  small  their  mingling  rays  unite, 

And  earth  and  skies  exchange  the  friendly  light. 
Vol.  II.  I 


9.8  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  Y*H. 

And  lo  my  son,  that  other  sapient  band, 
The  torch  of  science  flaming  in  their  hand! 
Thro  nature's  range  their  searching  souls  aspire 
Or  wake  to  life  the  canvas  and  the  lyre. 
Fixt  in  sublimest  thought,  behold  them  rise 
World  after  world  unfolding  to  their  eyes, 
Lead,  light,  allure  them  thro  the  total  plan 
And  give  new  guidance  to  the  paths  of  man.  550 

Yon  meteor-mantled  hill  see  Franklin  tread. 
Heaven's  awful  thunders  rolling  o'er  his  head; 
Convolving  clouds  the  billowy  skies  deform, 
And  forky  flames  emblaze  the  blackening  storm. 
See  the  descending  streams  around  him  burn, 
Glance  on  his  rod  and  with  his  finger  turn; 
He  bids  conflicting  fulminants  expire 
The  guided  blast,  and  holds  the  imprison'd  fire. 
No  more,  when  doubling  storms  the  vault  o'erspread, 
The  livid  glare  shall  strike  thy  race  with  dread,         560 
Nor  towers  nor  temples  shuddering  with  the  sound 
Sink  in  the  flames  and  shake  the  sheeted  ground. 
His  well  tried -wires,  that  every  tempest  wait, 
Shall  teach  mankind  to  ward  the  bolts  of  fate, 
With  pointed  steel  o'ertop  the  trembling  spire 
A$d  lead  from  uatoucht  walls  the  harmless  fire; 


BOOK  VIII.  COLUMBIAN. ,  99 

Fill'd  with  his  fame  while  distant  climes  rejoice, 
Wherever  lightning  shines  or  thunder  rears  its  voice 

And  see  sage  Rittenhouse  with  ardent  eye 
Lift  the  long  tube  and  pierce  the  starry  sky;  'TO 

Clear  in  his  view  the  circling  planets  roll, 
And  suns  and  satellites  their  course  control. 
He  marks  what  laws  the  widest  wanderers  bind, 
Copies  creation  in  his  forming  mind, 
Sees  in  his  hall  the  total  semblance  rise, 
And  mimics  there  the  labors  of  the  skies- 
There  student  youths  without  their  tubes  beho!4 
The  spangled  heavens  their  mystic  maze  unfold, 
And  crowded  schools  their  cheerful  chambers  grace 
With  all  the  spheres  that  cleave  the  vast  of  space.    580 

To  guide  the  sailor  in  his  wandering  way 
See  Godfrey's  glass44  reverse  the  beams  of  da  v. 
His  lifted  quadrant  to  the  eye  displays 
From  adverse  skies  the  counteracting  rays; 
And  marks,  as  devious  sails  bewildered  roll. 
Each  nice  gradation  from  the  stedfast  pole 

West4'  with  his  own  great  soul  the  canvas  warms. 
Creates,  inspires,  impassions  human  forms, 
Spurns  critic  rules,  and  seizing  safe  the  heart, 
Breaks  down  the  former  frightful  bounds  of  Art;       599 


100  LOLUMBIAD  BOOK  VIII. 

Where  ancient  manners,  -with  exclusive  reign, 

From  half  mankind  withheld  her  fair  domain. 

He  calls  to  life  each  patriot,  chief  or  sage, 

Garb'd  in  the  dress  and  drapery  of  his  age. 

Again  bold  Regulus  to  death  returns, 

Again  her  falling  Wolfe  Britannia  mourns; 

Lahogue,  Boyne,  Cressy,  Nevilcross  demand 

And  gain  fresh  lustre  from  his  copious  hand; 

His  Lear  stalks  wild  with  woes,  the  gods  defies. 

Insults  the  tempest  and  outstorms  the  skies;  6QP 

Edward  in  arms  to  frowning  combat  moves, 

Or  won  to  pity  by  the  queen  he  loves, 

Spares  the  devoted  Six,  whose  deathless  deed 

Preserves  the  town  his  vengeance  doom'd  to  bleed. 

With  rival  force,  see  Copley's  pencil  trace 
The  air  of  action  and  the  charms  of  face. 
Fair  in  his  tints  unfold  the  scenes  of  state, 
The  senate  listens  and  the  peers  debate; 
Pale  consternation  every  heart  appals, 
In  act  to  speak,  when  death-struck  Chatham  falls.     6 10 
He  bids  dread  Calpe  cease  to  shake  the  waves, 
While  Elliott's  arm  the  host  of  Bourbon  saves; 
O'er  sail-wing'd  batteries  sinking  in  the  flood, 
Mid  flames  and  darkness,  drencht  in  hostile  blood* 


BOOK  Vllf.  COLUMBIAN  101 

Britannia's  sons  extend  their  generous  hand 

To  rescue  foes  from  death  and  bear  them  to  the  land. 

Fired  with  the  martial  deeds  that  bathed  in  gore 
His  brave  companions  on  his  native  shore, 
Trumbull  with  daring  hand  their  fame  recals; 
He  shades  with  night  Quebec's  beleaguer'd  walls,     620 
Thro  flashing  flames,  that  midnight  war  supplies, 
The  assailants  yield,  their  great  Montgomery  dies  = 
On  Bunker  height,  thro  floods  of  hostile  fire, 
His  Putnam  toils  till  all  the  troops  retire, 
His  Warren,  pierced  with  balls,  at  last  lies  low 
And  leaves  a  victory  to  the  wasted  foe. 
Britannia  too  his  glowing  tint  shall  claim, 
To  pour  new  splendor  on  her  Calpean  fame; 
He  leads  her  bold  sortie  and  from  their  towers 
O'erturns  the  Gallic  and  Iberian  powers.  630 

See  rural  seats  of  innocence  and  ease, 
High  tufted  towers  and  walks  of  waving  trees, 
*The  white  waves  dashing  on  the  craggy  shores, 
Meandering  streams  and  meads  of  mingled  flowers, 
Where  nature's  sons  their  wild  excursions  tread, 
In  just  design  from  Taylor's  pencil  spread. 

Stuart  and  Brown  the  moving  portrait  raise, 

Each  rival  stroke  the  force  of  life  conveys; 

12 


102  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  VIII 

Heroes  and  beauties  round  their  tablets  stand 
And  rise  unfading  from  their  plastic  hand;  640 

Each  breathing  form  preserves  its  wonted  grace, 
And  all  the  soul  stands  speaking  in  the  face. 

Two  kindred  arts  the  swelling  statue  heave, 
Wake  the  dead  wax  and  teach  the  stone  to  live. 
While  the  bold  chissel  claims  the  rugged  strife 
To  rouse  the  sceptred  marble  into  life, 
See  Wright's  fair  hands  the  livelier  fire  control, 
In  waxen  forms  she  breathes  impassioned  soul; 
The  pencil'd  tint  o'er  molded  substance  glows, 
And  different  powers  the  peerless  art  compose,  650 

Grief,  rage  and  fear  beneath  her  fingers  start, 
Roll  the  wild  eye  and  pour  the  bursting  heart; 
The  world's  dead  fathers  wait  her  wakening  call, 
And  distant  ages  fill  the  storied  hall. 

To  equal  fame  ascends  thy  tuneful  throng, 
The  boast  of  genius  and  the  pride  of  song; 
Caught  from  the  cast  of  every  age  and  clime, 
Their  lays  shall  triumph  o'er  the  lapse  of  time. 

With  lynx-eyed  glance  thro  nature  far  to  pierce, 
With  all  the  powers  and  every  charm  of  verse,  660 

Each  science  opening  in  his  ample  mind, 
His  fancy  glowing  and  his  taste  refined, 


BOOK  VIII.  OOLUMBIAD.  103 

See  Trumbull  lead  the  train.  His  skilful  hand 

Hurls  the  keen  darts  of  satire  round  the  land. 

Pride,  knavery,  dulness  feel  his  mortal  stings, 

And  listening  virtue  triumphs  while  he  sings; 

Britain's  foil'd  sons,  victorious  now  no  more, 

In  guilt  retiring  from  the  wasted  shore, 

Strive  their  curst  cruelties  to  hide  in  vain; 

The  world  resounds  them  in  his  deathless  strain.       670 

On  wings  of  faith  to  elevate  the  soul 
Beyond  the  bourn  of  earth's  benighted  pole, 
For  Dwight's  high  harp  the  epic  Muse  sublime 
Hails  her  new  empire  in  the  western  clime. 
Tuned  from  the  tones  by  seers  seraphic  sung, 
Heaven  in  his  eye  and  rapture  on  his  tongue, 
His  voice  revives  old  Canaan's  promised  land, 
The  long-fought  fields  of  Jacob's  chosen  band. 
In  Hanniel's  fate,  proud  faction  finds  its  doom, 
Ai's  midnight  flames  light  nations  to  their  tomb,       6#0 
In  visions  bright  supernal  joys  are  given 
And  all  the  dark  futurities  of  heaven. 

While  freedom's  cause  his  patriot  bosom  warms, 
In  counsel  sage  nor  inexpert  in  arms, 
See  Humphreys  glorious  from  the  field  retire, 
Sheathe  the  glad  sword  and  string  the  soothing  Iyft; 


104 


COLUMBIA*. 


book  vm: 


That  lyre  which  erst,  in  hours  of  dark  despair, 
Roused  the  sad  realms  to  finish  well  the  war. 
O'er  fallen  friends,  with  all  the  strength  of  woe, 
Fraternal  sighs  in  his  strong  numbers  flow; 
His  country's  wrongs,  her  duties,  dangers,  praise, 
Fire  his  full  soul  and  animate  his  lays: 
Wisdom  and  War  with  equal  joy  shall  own 
So  fond  a  votary  and  »o  brave  a  soft 


690 


iHE 

COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  IX 


ARGUMENT. 

Vision  suspended.  Night  scene,  as  contemplated  from 
the  mount  of  vision.  Columbus  inquires  the  reason  of  the 
slow  progress  of  science,  and  its  frequent  interruptions. 
Hesper  answers,  that  all  things  in  the  physical,  as  well 
as  the  moral  and  intellectual  world,  are  progressive  in 
like  manner.  He  traces  their  progress  from  the  birth  of 
the  universe  to  the  present  state  of  the  earth  and  its  in- 
habitants; asserts  the  future  advancement  of  society,  till 
perpetual  peace  shall  be  established.  Columbus  proposes 
his  doubts;  alleges  in  support  of  them  the  successive  rise 
and  downfal  of  ancient  nations;  and  infers  future  and  pe- 
riodical convulsions.  Hesper,  in  answer,  exhibits  the 
great  distinction  between  the  ancient  and  modern  state  of 
the  arts  and  of  society.  Crusades.  Commerce.  Hanseatic 
League.  Copernicus.  Kepler.  Newton.  Galileo.  Hers- 
chel.  Descartes.  Bacon.  Printing  Press.  Magnetic  Needle. 
Geographical  discoveries.  Federal  system  in  America.  A 
similar  system  to  be  extended  over  the  whole  earth.  Co- 
lumbus desires  a  view  of  this. 


THE 

COLUMBIAN. 

BOOK  IX. 

JBut  now  had  Hesper  from  the  Hero's  sight 
Veil'd  the  vast  world  with  sudden  shades  of  night. 
Earth,  sea  and  heaven,  where'er  he  turns  his  eye> 
Arch  out  immense,  like  one  surrounding  sky 
Lampt  with  reverberant  fires.  The  starry  train 
Paint  their  fresh  forms  beneath  the  placid  maio; 
Fair  Cynthia  here  her  face  reflected  laves, 
Bright  Venus  gilds  again  her  natal  waves, 
The  Bear  redoubling  foams  with  fiery  joles, 
And  two  dire  Dragons  twine  two  arctic  poles.  \0 

Lights  o'er  the  land,  from  cities  lost  in  shade, 
New  constellations,  new  galaxies  spread, 
And  each  high  pharos  double  flames  provides, 
One  from  its  fires,  one  fainter  from  the  tides. 


1 08  G^LUMfclAD  BOOK  IX 

Centred  sublime  in  this  bivaulted  sphere, 
On  all  sides  void,  unbounded,  calm  and  clear, 
Soft  o'er  the  Pair  a  lambent  lustre  plays, 
Their  seat  still  cheering  with  concentred  rays; 
To  converse  grave  the  soothing  shades  invite, 
^Vnd  on  his  guide  Columbus  fixt  his  sight:  20 

Kind  messenger  of  heaven,  he  thus  began, 
Why  this  progressive  laboring  search  of  man? 
If  men  by  slow  degrees  have  power  to  reach 
These  opening  truths  that  long  dim  ages  teach, 
If,  school'd  in  woes  and  tortured  on  to  thought. 
Passion  absorbing  what  experience  taught, 
Still  thro  the  devious  painful  paths  they  wind 
And  to  sound  wisdom  lead  at  last  the  mind, 
Why  did  not  bounteous  nature  at  their  birth 
Give  all  their  science  to  these  sons  of  earth,  30 

Pour  on  their  reasoning  powers  pellucid  day, 
Their  arts,  their  interests  clear  as  light  display? 
That  error,  madness  and  sectarian  strife 
Might  find  no  place  to  havoc  human  life. 

To  whom  the  guardian  Power:  To  thee  is  given 
To  hold  high  converse  and  inquire  of  heaven, 
To  inark  untraversed  ages  and  to  trace 
Whate'er  improves  and  what  impedes  thy  race. 


BOOK  IV  I  MUIAI).  109 

Know  then,  progressive  are  the  paths  we  go 
In  worlds  above  thee,  as  in  thine  below.  4<u 

Nature  herself  (whose  grasp  of  time  and  place 
Deals  out  duration  and  impalms  all  space) 
Moves  in  progressive  march;  but  where  to  tend, 
What  course  to  compass,  how  the  march  must  end. 
Her  sons  decide  not;  yet  her  works  we  greet 
Imperfect  in  their  parts,  but  in  their  whole  complete. 

When  erst  her  hand  the  crust  of  Chaos  thhTd 
And  forced  from  his  black  breast  the  bursting  world, 
High  swell'd  the  huge  existence  crude  and  crass, 
A  formless  dark  impermeated  mass;  / 

No  light  nor  heat  nor  cold  nor  moist  nor  dry, 
But  all  concocting  in  their  causes  lie. 
Millions  of  periods,  such  as  these  her  spheres 
Learn  since  to  measure  and  to  call  their  years, 
She  broods  the  mass;  then  into  motion  brings 
And  seeks  and  sorts  the  principles  of  things, 
Pours  in  the  attractive  and  repulsive  force, 
Whirls  forth  her  globes  in  cosmogyral  course. 
By  myriads  and  by  millions,  scaled  sublime, 
To  scoop  their  skies  and  curve  the  rounds  of  time.      6€ 

She  groups  their  systems,  lots  to  each  his  place. 

Strow'd  thro  immensity  and  drown'd  in  space,. 
Vol.  II.  K 


HO  COLUMB1AD.  HOOK  IX. 

All  yet  unseen;  till  light  at  last  begun, 
And  every  system  found  a  centred  sun, 
Call'd  to  his  neighbor  and  exchanged  from  far 
Mis  infant  gleams  with  every  social  star; 
Rays  thwarting  rays  and  skies  o'erarching  skies 
Robed  their  dim  planets  with  commingling  dies, 
Hung  o'er  each  heaven  their  living  lamps  serene 
Vnd  tinged  with  blue  the  frore  expanse  between:         70 
Then  joyous  Nature  hail'd  the  golden  morn, 
Drank  the  young  beam,  beheld  her  empire  born. 

Lo  the  majestic  movement!  there  they  trace 
Their  blank  infinitudes  of  time  and  space, 
Vault  with  careering  curves  her  central  goal, 
Pour  forth  her  day  and  stud  her  evening  stole, 
Heedless  of  count;  their  numbers  still  unknown, 
Unmeasured  still  their  progress  round  her  throne; 
For  none  of  all  her  firstborn  sons,  endow'd 
With  heavenly  sapience  and  pretensions  proud, 
No  seraph  bright,  whose  keen  considering  eye 
And  sunbeam  speed  ascend  from  sky  to  sky, 
lias  yet  explored  or  counted  all  their  sphere^ 
Or  nxt  or  found  their  past  record  of  years. 
Nor  can  a  ray  from  her  remotest  sun, 
Shot  forth  when  first  their  splendid  morn  beg»: 


BOOK  IX  COLUMB1  111 

Borne  straight)  continuous  thro  the  void  of  spa 
Doubling  each  thousand  years  its  rapid  pace 
And  hither  posting,  yet  have  reacht  this  earth, 
To  bring  the  tidings  of  its  master's  birth. 

And  mark  thy  native  orb!  tho  later  born, 
Tho  still  unstorcd  with  light  her  silver  he. 
As  seen  from  sister  planets,  who  repay 
Far  more  than  she  their  borrowed  streams  of  d) 
Yet  what  an  age  her  shell-rock  ribs  attest! 
Her  sparry  spines,  her  coal-incumber'd  bn 
Millions  of  generations  toil'd  and  died 
To  crust  with  coral  and  to  salfher  tide, 
And  millions  more,  ere  yet  her  soil  bei 
Ere  yet  she  form'd  or  could  have  nursed  her  u  \ 

Then  rose  the  proud  phenomenon,  the  birth 
Most  richly  wrought,  the  favorite  child  of  ea:\. 
But  frail  at  first  his  frame,  with  nerye 
Unform'd  his  footsteps  long  untoned  his  tongue, 
Unhappy,  unassociate,  unrefined, 
Unfledged  the  pinions  of  his  lofty  mind. 
He  wanderM  wild,  to  every  beast  a  pre}'. 
More  prest  with  wants  and  feebler  far  than  they; 
For  countless  ages  forced  from  place  to  place, 
Just  reproduced  but  scarce  preserved  his  race.  1 1(5 


112  COLUMBIAN  BOOK  IX. 

At  last,  a  soil  more  fixt  and  streams  more  sweet 

Inform  the  wretched  migrant  where  to  seat; 

Euphrates'  flowery  banks  begin  to  smile, 

Fruits  fringe  the  Ganges,  gardens  grace  the  Nile; 

Nile,  ribb'd  with  dikes,  a  length  of  coast  creates, 

And  giant  Thebes  begins  her  hundred  gates, 

Mammoth  of  human  works!  her  grandeur  known 

These  thousand  lustres  by  its  wrrecks  alone; 

Wrecks  that  humilitate  still  all  modern  states, 

Press  the  poised  earth  with  their  enormous  wreights,  120 

Refuse  to  quit  their  place,  dissolve  their  frame 

And  trust,  like  Ilion,  to  the  bards  their  fame. 

Memphis  amass'd  her  piles,  that  still  o'erclimb 

The  clouds  of  heaven  and  task  the  tooth  of  time; 

Belus  and  Brama  tame  their  vagrant  throngs, 

And  Homer,  with  his  monumental  songs, 

Builds  far  more  durable  his  splendid  throne 

Than  all  the  Pharaohs  with  their  hills  of  stone. 

High  roird  the  round  of  years  that  hung  sublime 
These  wondrous  beacons  in  the  night  of  time;  130 

Studs  of  renowrn!  that  to  thine  eyes  attest 
The  wast  of  ages  that  beyond  them  rest; 
Ages  how  fill'd  with  toils!  how  gloonvd  with  woes!      J 
Trod  with  all  steps  that  man's  long  march  compose. 


BOOK  IX.  COLUMBIA©  IK' 

Dim  drear  disastrous;  ere  his  foot  could  gain 
A  height  so  brilliant  o'er  the  bestial  train. 

In  those  blank  periods,  where  no  man  can  trace 
The  gleams  of  thought  that  first  illumed  his  race, 
His  errors,  twined  with  science,  took  their  birth 
And  forged  their  fetters  for  this  child  of  earth.  14.0 

And  when,  as  oft,  he  dared  expand  his  view 
And  work  with  nature  on  the  line  she  drew, 
Some  monster,  gender'd  in  his  fears,  unirumvti 
His  opening  soul  and  marr'd  the  works  he  plamyc 
Fear,  the  first  passion  of  his  helpless  state, 
Redoubles  all  the  woes  that  round  him  wait, 
Blocks  nature's  path  and  sends  him  wandering  wide, 
Without  a  guardian  and  without  a  guide. 

Beat  by  the  storm,  refresht  by  gentle  rain, 
By  sunbeams  cheer'd  or  foundered  in  the  main.  I 

He  bows  to  every  force  he  can't  control, 
Endows  them  all  with  intellect  and  soul, 
With  passions  various,  turbulent  and  strong, 
Rewarding  virtue  and  avenging  wrong, 
Gives  heaven  and  earth  to  their  supernal  doom 
And  swells  their  sway  beyond  the  closing  tomb. 
Hence  rose  his  gods,  that  mystic  monstrous 
Of  blood-stain'd  altars  and  of  priestly  power, 


1 14  COLUMBtAD.  BOOK  IX 

Hence  blind  credulity  on  all  dark  things, 

False  morals  hence  and  hence  the  yoke  of  kings.       1 66 

Yon  starry  vault  that  round  him  rolls  the  spheres 
And  gives  to  earth  her  seasons,  days  and  years. 
The  source  designates  and  the  clue  imparts 
Of  all  his  errors  and  of  all  his  arts. 
There  spreads  the  system  that  his  ardent  thought 
First  into  emblems,  then  to  spirits  wrought; 
Spirits  that  ruled  all  matter  and  all  mind, 
Nourished  or  famish'd,  kill'd  or  cured  mankind, 
Bade  him  neglect  the  soil  whereon  he  fed, 
Work  with  hard  hand  for  that  which  was  not  bread. 
Erect  the  temple,  darken  deep  the  shrine, 
Yield  the  full  hecatomb  with  awe  divine, 
Despise  this  earth  and  claim  with  lifted  eyes 
Tfis  health  and  harvest  from  the  meteor'd  skies. 

Accustom'd  thus  to  bow  the  suppliant  head 
And  reverence  powers  that  shake  his  heart  with  dread. 
His  pliant  faith  extends  with  easy  ken 
From  heavenly  hosts  to  heaven-anointed  men; 
The  sword,  the  tripod  join  their  mutual  aids 
To  film  his  eyes  with  more  impervious  shades* 
Create  a  sceptred  idol  and  enshrine 
The  robber  chief  in  attributes  divine. 


BOOK  IV  COLUMRIAD.  115 

Arm  the  new  phantom  with  the  nation's  rod 

And  hail  the  dreadful  delegate  of  God. 

Two  settled  slaveries  thus  the  race  control, 

Engross  their  labors  and  debase  their  soul; 

Till  creeds  and  crimes  and  feuds  and  fears  compose 

The  seeds  of  war  and  all  its  kindred  woes. 

Unfold,  thou  Memphian  dungeon!  there  began 
The  lore  of  Mystery,  the  mask  of  man;  196 

There  Fraud  with  science  leagued,  in  early  times, 
Plann'd  a  resplendent  course  of  holy  crimes, 
Stalk'd  o'er  the  nations  with  gigantic  pace, 
With  sacred  symbols  charm'd  the  cheated  race, 
Taught  them  new  grades  of  ignorance  to  gain 
And  punish  truth  with  more  than  mortal  pain,-— 
Unfold  at  last  thy  cope!  that  man  may  see 
The  mines  of  mischief  he  has  drawn  from  thee. 
•— -Wide  gapes  the  porch  with  hieroglyphics  hung, 
And  mimic  zodiacs  o'er  its  arches  flung;  200 

Close  labyrintht  here  the  feign'd  Omniscient  dwells, 
Dupes  from  all  nations  seek  the  sacred  cells; 
Inquiring  strangers,  with  astonisht  eyes, 
Dive  deep  to  read  these  subterranean  skies, 
To  taste  that  holiness  which  faith  bestows 
And  fear  promulgates  thro  its  world  of  wo£s 


1 1 6  COLUMBIAN.  BOOK  IX 

The  bold  Initiate  takes  his  awful  stand, 

A  thin  pale  taper  trembling  in  his  hand; 

Thro  hells  of  howling  monsters  lies  the  road, 

To  season  souls  and  teach  the  ways  of  God.  210 

Down  the  crampt  corridor,  far  sunk  from  day. 
On  hands  and  bended  knees  he  gropes  his  way, 
Swims  roaring  streams,  thro  dens  of  serpents  crawls., 
Descends  deep  wells  and  clambers  flaming  walls; 
Now  thwart  his  lane  a  lake  of  sulphur  gleams, 
^With  fiery  waves  and  suffocating  steams; 
He  dares  not  shun  the  ford;  for  full  in  view 
Fierce  lions  rush  behind  and  force  him  thro. 
Long  ladders  heaved  on  end,  with  banded  eyes 
He  mounts,  and  mounts,  and  seems  to  gain  the  skies, 
Then  backward  falling,  tranced  with  deadly  fright, 
Finds  his  own  feet  and  stands  restored  to  light. 
Here  all  dread  sights  of  torture  round  him  rise; 
Lasht  on  a  wheel,  a  whirling  felon  flies; 
A  wretch,  with  members  chain'd  and  liver  bare, 
Writhes  and  disturbs  the  vulture  feasting  there; 
One  strains  to  roll  his  rock,  recoiling  still; 
One,  stretcht  recumbent  o'er  a  limpid  rill, 
Burns  with  devouring  thirst;  his  starting  eyes, 
SweH'd  veins  and  frothy  lips  and  piercing  cries  230 


i 


BOOK  IX  COLUMBIAN  117 

Accuse  the  faithless  eddies,  as  they  shrink 

And  keep  him  panting  still,  still  bending  o'er  the  brink. 

At  last  Elysium  to  his  ravisht  eyes 
Spreads  flowery  fields  and  opens  golden  skies; 
Breathes  Orphean  music  thro  the  dancing  groves, 
Trains  the  gay  troops  of  beauties,  graces,  loves, 
Lures  his  delirious  sense  with  sweet  decoys, 
Fine  fancied  foretaste  of  eternal  joys, 
Fastidious  pomp  or  proud  imperial  state, — 
Illusions  all,  that  pass  the  Ivory  Gate!  24© 

Various  and  vast  the  fraudful  drama  grows, 
Feign'd  are  the  pleasures,  as  unfelt  the  woes; 
Where  sainted  hierophants,  with  well  taught  mimes, 
Play'd  first  the  role  for  all  succeeding  times; 
Which,  vampt  and  varied  as  the  clime  required, 
More  trist  or  splendid,  open  or  retired, 
Forms  local  creeds,  with  multifarious  lore, 
Creates  the  god  and  bids  the  world  adore. 

Lo  at  the  Lama's  feet,  as  lord  of  all, 
Age  following  age  in  dumb  devotion  fall;  250 

The  youthful  god,  mid  suppliant  kings  enshrined* 
Dispensing  fate  and  ruling  half  mankind, 
Sits  with  contorted  limbs,  a  silent  slave. 
An  early  victim  of  a  secret  grave; 


1  IS  -COLUMBIA*  BOOK  IX 

His  priests  by  myriads  famish  every  clime 
And  sell  salvation  in  the  tones  they  chime. 

See  India's  triad  frame  their  blood-penn'd  codgs, 
Old  Ganges  change  his  gardens  for  his  gods, 
Ask  his  own  waves  from  their  celestial  hands. 
And  choke  his  channel  with  their  sainted  sands.        260 
Mad  with  the  mandates  of  their  scriptured  word, 
And  prompt  to  snatch  from  hell  her  dear  dead  lord, 
The  wife  still  blooming  decks  her  sacred  urns, 
Mounts  the  gay  pyre  and  with  his  body  burns. 

Shrined  in  his  golden  fane  the  Delphian  stands. 
Shakes  distant  thrones  and  taxes  unknown  lands. 
Kings,  consuls,  khans  from  earth's  whole  regions  come? 
Pour  in  their  wealth  and  then  inquire  their  doom; 
Furious  and  wild  the  priestess  rends  her  veil, 
Sucks  thro  the  sacred  stool  the  maddening  gale,        270 
Starts  reddens  foams  and  screams  and  mutters  loud, 
Like  a  fell  fiend,  her  oracles  of  God. 
The  dark  enigma,  by  the  pontiff  scroli'd 
In  broken  phrase,  and  close  in  parchment  roll'd, 
From  his  proud  pulpit  to  the  suppliant  hurl'd, 
Shall  rive  an  empire  and  distract  the  world. 

And  where  the  mosque's  dim  arches  bend  on  high. 
Mecca's  dead  prophet  mounts  the  mimic  sky; 


♦        I 

BOOK  IX.  GOLUMBIAS  11$ 

Pilgrims,  imbanded  strong  for  -mutual  aid, 

Thro  dangerous  deserts  that  their  faith  has  made,     280 

Train  their  long  caravans  and  famisht  come 

To  kiss  the  shrine  and  trembling  touch  the  tomb. 

By  fire  and  sword  the  same  fell  faith  extend 

And  howl  their  homilies  to  earth's  far  end. 

Phenician  altars  reek  with  human  gore, 
Gods  hiss  from  caverns  or  in  cages  roar, 
Nile  pours  from  heaven  a  tutelary  flood, 
And  gardens  grow  46  the  vegetable  god. 
Two  rival  powers  the  magian  faith  inspire., 
Primeval  Darkness  and  immortal  Fire;  %9Q 

Evil  and  good  in  these  contending  rise, 
And  each  by  turns  the  sovereign  of  the  skies. 
Sun,  stars  and  planets  round  the  earth  behold 
Their  fanes  of  marble  and  their  shrines  of  gold} 
The  sea,  the  grove,  the  harvest  and  the  vine 
Spring  from  their  gods  and  claim  a  birth  divine*; 
While  heroes,  kings  and  sages  of  their  times, 
Those  gods  on  earth,  are  gods  in  happier  climes; 
Minos  in  judgment  sits,  and  Jove  in  power, 
And  Odin's  friends  are  feasted  there  with  gore.  300 

Man  is  an  infant  still;  and  slow  and  late 
Must  form  and  fix  his  adolescent  state, 


f 

120  COLUMBIA*.  BOOK  IX 

Mature  his  manhood  and  at  last  behold 

His  reason  ripen  and  his  force  unfold. 

From  that  bright  eminence  he  then  shall  cast 

A  look  of  wonder  on  his  wanderings  past, 

Congratulate  himself,  and  o'er  the  earth 

Firm  the  full  reign  of  peace  predestined  at  his  birth. 

So  Hesper  taught;  and  farther  had  pursued 
A  theme  so  grateful  as  a  world  renew'd;  31© 

But  dubious  thoughts  disturb'd  the  Hero's  breast, 
Who  thus  with  modest  mien  the  Seer  addrest: 
Say,  friend  of  man,  in  this  unbounded  range, 
Where  error  vagrates  and  illusions  change, 
What  hopes  to  see  his  baleful  blunders  cease, 
And  earth  commence  that  promised  age  of  peace? 
Like  a  loose  pendulum  his  mind  is  hung, 
From  wrong  to  wrong  by  ponderous  passion  swung. 
It  vibrates  wide  and  with  unceasing  flight 
Sweeps  all  extremes  and  scorns  the  mean  of  right.    320 
Tho  in  the  times  you  trace  he  seems  to  gain 
A  steadier  movement  and  a  path  more  plain, 
And  tho  experience  will  have  taught  him  then 
To  mark  some  dangers,  some  delusions  ken, 
Yet  who  can  tell  what  future  shocks  may  spread 
New  shades  of  darkness  round  his  loftv  head. 


% 

x  IN.  MUIAL)  121 

Plunge  him  again  in  some  broad  gulf  of  woes, 

Where  long  and  oft  he  struggled,  wrecked  and  rose. 

What  strides  he  took  in  those  gigantic  times 

That  sow'd  with  cities  all  his  orient  climes! 

When  earth's  proud  floods  he  tamed,  made  many  a  shore. 

And  talk'd  with  heaven  from  Babel's  glittering  tower! 

Did  not  his  Babylon  exulting  say, 

I  sit  a  queen,  for  ever  stands  my  sway? 

Thebes,  Memphis,  Nineveh,  a  countless  throng, 

Caught  the  same  splendor  and  return'd  the  song; 

Each  boasted,  promised  o'er  the  world  to  rise, 

Spouse  of  the  sun,  eternal  as  the  skies. 

Where  shall  we  find  them  now?  the  very  shore 

Where  Ninus  rear'd  his  empire  is  no  more:  o4G 

The  dikes  decay'd,  a  putrid  marsh  regains 

The  sunken  walls,  the  tomb-incumber'd  plains, 

Pursues  the  dwindling  nations  where  they  shrink 

And  skirts  with  slime  its  deleterious  brink. 

The  fox  himself  has  fled  his  gilded  den, 

Nor  holds  the  heritage  he  won  from  men; 

Lapwing  and  reptile  shun  the  curst  abode, 

And  the  foul  dragon,  now  no  more  a  god^ 

Trails  off  his  train;  the  sickly  raven  flies; 

A  wide  strong-stencht  Avernus  chokes  the  skies.      35p 
Vol.  II.  L 


COLUMBIA!*  BOOK  TX 

So  pride  and  ignorance  fall  a  certain  prey 
To  the  stanch  bloodhound  of  despotic  sway. 

Then  past  a  long  drear  night,  with  here  and  there 
A  doubtful  glimmering  from  a  single  star; 
Tyre,  Carthage,  Syracuse  the  gleam  increase, 
Till  dawns  at  last  the  effulgent  morn  of  Greece 
Here  all  his  Muses  meet,  all  arts  combine 
To  nerve  his  genius  and  his  works  refine; 
Morals  and  laws  and  arms  and  every  grace 
That  e'er  adorn'd  or  could  exalt  the  race,  360 

Wrought  into  science  and  arranged  in  rules, 
Swell  the  proud  splendor  of  her  cluster'd  schools.. 
Build  and  sustain  the  state  with  loud  acclaim 
And  work  those  deathless  miracles  of  fame 
That  stand  unrival'd  still;  for  who  shall  dare 
Another  field  with  Marathon  compare? 
Who  speaks  of  eloquence  or  sacred  song. 
But  calls  on  Greece  to  modulate  his  tongue? 
And  where  has  man's  fine  form  so  perfect  shone 
in  tint  or  mold,  in  canvas  or  in  stone?  370 

Yet  from  that  splendid  height  o'erturn'd,  once  more 
He  dasht  in  dust  the  living  lamp  he  bore. 
Dazzled  with  her  own  glare,  decoy'd  and  sold 
For  ham  i3n  and  barbaric  eold. 


HOOK  I.\  COLIWIBIAD.  123 

Greece  treads  on  Greece,  subduing  and  subdued, 
New  ciimes  inventing,  all  the  old  renew'd, 
Canton  o'er  canton  climbs;  till,  crusht  and  broke, 
All  yield  the  sceptre  and  resume  the  yoke. 

Where  shall  we  trace  him  next,  the  migrant  man, 
To  try  once  more  his  meliorating  plan?  38(1 

Shall  not  the  Macedonian,  where  he  strides 
O'er  Asian  worlds  and  Nile's  neglected  tides, 
Prepare  new  seats  of  glory  to  repay 
The  transient  shadows  with  perpetual  day? 
His  heirs  erect  their  empires  and  expand 
The  beams  of  Greece  thro  each  benighted  land; 
Seleucia  spreads  o'er  ten  broad  realms  her  sway 
And  turns  on  eastern  climes  the  western  ray; 
Palmyra  brightens  earth's  commercial  zone 
And  sits  an  emblem  of  her  god  the  sun;  390 

While  fond  returning  to  that  favorite  shore 
Where  Ammon  ruled  and  Kermes  taught  of  yore, 
All  arts  concentrate,  force  and  grace  combine 
To  rear  and  blend  the  useful  with  the  fine, 
Restore  the  Egyptian  glories  and  retain, 
Where  science  dawn'd,  her  great  resurgent  reign. 

From  Egypt  chased  again,  he  seeks  his  home,. 
>Iore  firmly  fixt  in  sage  considerate  Pvome. 


124  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  i'X 

Here  all  the  virtues  long  resplendent  shone, 

All  that  was  Greek,  barbarian  and  her  own;  400 

She  school'd  him  sound  and  boasted  to  extend 

Thro  time's  long  course  and  earth's  remotest  end 

His  glorious  reign  of  reason;  soon  to  cease 

The  clang  of  arms  and  rule  the  world  in  peace. 

Great  was  the  sense  he  gain'd  and  well  defined 

The  various  functions  of  his  tutor'd  mind; 

id  but  his  sober  sense  have  proved  his  guidp, 
And  kind  experience  pruned  the  shoots  of  pride. 

A  field  magnificent  before  him  lay; 
Land  after  land  received  the  spreading  ray; 
Franchise  and  friendship  travel'd  in  his  train, 
Bandits  of  earth  and  pirates  of  the  main 
Rose  into  citizens,  their  rage  resign'd 
And  hail'd  the  great  republic  of  mankind* 
If  ever  then  state  slaughter  was  to  pause, 
And  man  from  nature  learn  to  frame  his  Ui 
This  was  the  moment;  here  the  sunbeam  rose 
To  hush  the  human  storm  and  let  the  world  repose. 

But  drunk  with  pomp  and  sickening  at  the  light, 
He  stagger'd  wild  on  this  delirious  height;  420 

Forgot  the  plainest  truths  he  learnt  before, 
And  bartered  moral  for  material  power. 


BOOK  IX.  COLUMBIAN,  125 

From  Calpe's  rock  to  India's  ardent  skies, 
O'er  shuddering  earth  his  talon'd  Eagle  flies, 
To  justice  blind  and  heedless  where  she  drove, 
As  when  she  bore  the  brandisht  bolt  of  Jove. 

Rome  loads  herself  with  chains,  seals  fast  her  eyes 
And  tells  the  insulted  nations  when  to  rise; 
And  rise  they  do,  tempestuous  in  their  sweep^ 
Swarm  following  swarm,  o'ershading  land  and  deep,  430 
Roll  back  her  outrage  and  indignant  shed 
The  world's  wide  vengeance  on  her  sevenfold  head. 
Then  dwindling  back  to  littleness  and  shade 
Man  soon  forgets  the  gorgeous  glare  he  made. 
Sinks  to  a  savage  serf  or  monkish  drone, 
Roves  in  rude  hordes  or  counts  his  beads  alone, 
Wars  with  his  arts,  obliterates  his  lore 
And  burns  the  books  that  rear'd  his  race  before. 

Shrouded  in  deeper  darkness  now  he  veers 
The  vast  gyration  of  a  thousand  years,  440 

Strikes  out  each  lamp  that  would  illume  his  way, 
Disputes  his  food  with  every  beast  of  prey; 
Jmbands  his  force  to  fence  his  trist  abodes, 
A  wretched  robber  with  his  feudal  codes. 

At  length,  it  seems,  some  parsimonious  rays 

Collect  from  each  far  heaven  a  feeble  blaze, 

L  % 


.L'MBIAD.  iiUOKIX. 

Dance  o'er  his  Europe  and  again  excite 

His  numerous  nations  to  receive  the  light. 

But  faint  and  slow  the  niggard  dawn  expands, 

Diffused  o'er  various  far  dissundcr'd  lands,  450 

Dreading,  as  well  it  may,  to  prove  once  more 

The  same  sad  chance  so  often  proved  before. 

And  why  not  lapse  again?  celestial  seer, 
Forgive  my  doubts  and  ah  remove  my  fear! 
Man  is  my  brother;  strong  I  feel  the  ties, 
From  strong  solicitude  mw  doubts  arise; 
My  heart,  while  opening  with  the  boundless  scope 
That  swells  before  him  and  expands  his  hope, 
Forebodes  another  fall;  and  tho  at  last 
Thy  world  is  planted  and  with  light  o'ercast,  460 

Tho  two  broad  continents  their  beams  combine 
Round  his  whole  globe  to  stream  his  day  divine, 
Perchance  some  folly  yet  uncured  may  spread 
\  storm  proportion'd  to  the  lights  they  shed, 
Veil  both  his  continents  and  leave  again 
Between  them  stretcht  the  impermeable  main; 
All  science  buried,  sails  and  cities  lost, 
Their  lands  uncultured,  as  their  seas  uncrost. 
Till  on  thy  coast,  some  thousand  ages  hence, 

.  bold  enterprise  commc1  47'" 


BOOK  IX.  LI  MB!  AD. 

Some  new  Columbus  (happier  let  him  be, 

More  wise  and  great  and  virtuous  far  than  me) 

Launch  on  the  wave  and  tow'rd  the  rising  dav 

Like  a  strong  eaglet  steer  his  untaught  way, 

Gird  half  the  globe  and  to  his  age  unfold 

A  strange  new  world,  the  world  we  call  the  old. 

From  Finland's  glade  to  Calpe's  storm-beat  head 

He  '11  find  some  tribes  of  scattering  wildmen  spread; 

But  one  vast  wilderness  will  shade  the  soil, 

No  wreck  of  art,  no  sign  of  ancient  toil  480 

Tell  where  a  city  stood;  nor  leave  one  trace 

Of  all  that  honors  now  and  all  that  shames  the  race. 

If  such  the  round  we  run,  what  hope,  my  friend, 
To  see  our  madness  and  our  miseries  end? — 
Here  paused  the  Patriarch:  mild  the  Saint  return'd, 
And  as  he  spoke,  fresh  glories  round  himburn'd: 
My  son,  I  blame  not  but  applaud  thy  grief; 
Inquiries  deep  should  lead  to  slow  belief. 
So  small  the  portion  of  the  range  of  man 
His  written  stories  reach  or  views  can  span,  490 

That  wild  confusion  seems  to  clog  his  march, 
And  the  dull  progress  made  illudes  thy  search. 
But  broad  beyond  compare,  with  steadier  hand 
Traced  o'er  his  earth,  his  present  paths  expand. 


128  COLUMBIAD.         -  BOOK  IX 

In  sober  majesty  and  matron  grace 

Sage  science  now  conducts  her  filial  race; 

And  if,  while  all  their  arts  around  them  shine. 

They  culture  more  the  solid  than  the  fine, 

Tis  to  correct  their  fatal  faults  47  of  old, 

When,  caught  by  tinsel,  they  forgot  the  gold;  500 

When  their  strong  brilliant  imitative  lines 

Traced  nature  only  in  her  gay  designs, 

Rear'd  the  proud  column,  toned  her  chanting  lyre, 

Warm'd  the  full  senate  with  her  words  of  fire, 

Pour'd  on  the  canvas  every  pulse  of  life 

And  bade  the  marble  rage  with  human  strife. 

These  were  the  arts  that  nursed  unequal  sway, 
That  priests  would  pamper  and  that  kings  would  pay, 
That  spoke  to  vulgar  sense  and  often  stole 
The  sense  of  right  and  freedom  from  the  soul.  510 

While,  circumscribed  in  some  concentred  clime, 
They  reacht  but  one  small  nation  at  a  time, 
Dazzled  that  nation,  pufft  her  local  pride, 
Proclaim'd  her  hatred  to  the  world  beside, 
Drew  back  returning  hatred  from  afar 
And  sunk  themselves  beneath  the  storms  of  war. 

As,  when  the  sun  moves  o'er  the  flaming  zone, 
Collecting  clouds  attend  his  fervid  throne, 


UOOKD  COLUMBIA  1>.  129 

Superior  splendors,  in  his  morn  display 'd, 
Prepare  for  noontide  but  a  heavier  shade;  520 

Thus  where  the  brilliant  arts  alone  prevail'd, 
Their  shining  course  succeeding  storms  assail'd; 
Pride,  wrong  and  insult  hemm'd  their  scanty  reign, 
A  Nile  their  stream,  a  Hellespont  their  main, 
Content  with  Tiber's  narrow  shores  to  wind, 
They  Hedged  their  Eagle  but  to  fang  mankind; 
Ere  great  inventions  found  a  tardy  birth, 
And  with  their  new  creations  blest  the  earth. 
Now  sober'd  man  a  steadier  gait  assumes, 
Broad  is  the  beam  that  breaks  the  Gothic  glooms.     530 
At  once  consenting  nations  lift  their  eyes 
And  hail  the  holy  dawn  that  streaks  the  skies; 
Arabian  califs  rear  the  spires  of  Spain, 
The  Lombards  keel  their  Adriatic  main, 
Great  Charles,  invading  and  reviving  all, 
Plants  o'er  with  schools  his  numerous  states  of  Gaul; 
And  Alfred  opes  the  mines  whence  Albion  draws 
The  ore  of  all  her  wealth, — her  liberty  and  laws. 

IAusonian  cities  interchange  and  spread 
The  lights  of  learning  on  the  wings  of  trade;  $40 

Bologna's  student  walls  arise  to  fame, 
Germania,  thine  their  rival  honors  claim: 


1 30  COLUMBIA!*.  BOOK 

Halle,  Gottinge,  Upsal,  Kiel,  and  Leyden  smile, 
Oxonia,  Cambridge  cheer  Britannia's  isle; 
Where,  like  her  lark,  gay  Chaucer  leads  the  lay, 
The  matin  carol  of  his  country's  day. 

Blind  War  himself,  that  erst  opposed  all  good 
And  whelrn'd  meek  Science  in  her  votaries'  blood, 
Now  smooths,  by  means  unseen,  her  modest  way, 
Extends  her  limits  and  secures  her  sway. 
From  Europe's  world  his  mad  crusaders  pour 
Their  banded  myriads  on  the  Asian  shore; 
The  mystic  Cross,  thro  famine  toil  and  blood, 
Leads  their  long  marches  to  the  tomb  of  God. 
Thro  realms  of  industry  their  passage  lies, 
And  labor'd  affluence  feasts  their  curious  eyes; 
Till  fields  of  slaughter  whelm  the  broken  host, 
Their  pride  appall'd,  their  warmest  zealots  lost, 
The  wise  remains  to  their  own  shores  return, 
Transplant  all  arts  that  Hagar's  race  adorn, 
Learn  from  long  intercourse  their  mutual  ties 
And  find  in  commerce  where  their  interest  lies. 

From  Drave's  long  course  to  Biscay's  bending  sho 
Where  Adria  sleeps,  to  where  the  Bothnian  roars, 
In  one  great  Hanse,  for  earth's  whole  traffic  known, 
Free  cities  rise  and  in  their  golden  zone 


BOOK  IX.  COLUMBIAN  131 

Bind  all  the  interior  states;  nor  princes  dare 
Infringe  their  franchise  with  voracious  war. 
All  shield  them  safe  and  joy  to  share  the  gain 
That  spreads  o'er  land  from  each  surrounding  main,  570 
Makes  Indian  stuffs,  Arabian  gums  their  own, 
Plants  Persian  gems  on  every  Celtic  crown, 
Pours  thro  their  opening  woodlands  milder  day 
And  gives  to  genius1  his  expansive  play. 

This  blessed  moment,  from  the  towers  of  Thorn 
New  splendor  rises;  there  the  sage  is  born! 
The  sage  who  starts  these  planetary  spheres, 
Deals  out  their  task  to  wind  their  own  bright  years, 
Restores  his  station  to  the  parent  sun, 
And  leads  his  duteous  daughters  round  his  throne.    58Q 
Each  mounts  obedient  on  her  wheels  of  fire, 
Whirls  round  her  sisters  and  salutes  the  sire, 
Guides  her  new  car,  her  youthful  coursers  tries, 
Curves  careful  paths  along  her  alter'd  skies, 
Learns  all  her  mazes  thro  the  host  of  even, 
And  hails  and  joins  the  harmony  of  heaven. 
— Fear  not,  Copernicus!  let  loose  the  rein, 
Launch  from  their  goals  and  mark  the  moving  trail 
Fix  at  their  sun  thy  calculating  eye, 
Compare  and  count  their  courses  round  their  sky.     590 


132  COLUMBIA!).  BOOK  IX; 

Fear  no  disaster  from  the  slanting  force 
That  warps  them  staggering  in  elliptic  course; 
Thy  sons  with  steadier  ken  shall  aid  the  search 
And  firm  and  fashion  their  majestic  march, 
Kepler  prescribe  the  laws  no  stars  can  shun* 
And  Newton  tie  them  to  the  eternal  sun. 

By  thee  inspired,  his  tube  the  Tuscan  plies 
And  sends  new  colonies  to  stock  the  skies, 
Gives  Jove  his  satellites  and  first  adorns 
Effulgent  Phosphor  with  his  silver  horns.  600 

Herschel  ascends  himself48  with  venturous  wain 
And  joins  and  flanks  thy  planetary  train, 
Perceives  his  distance  from  their  elder  spheres 
And  guards  with  numerous  moons  the  lonely  round  he 
steers. 

Yes,  bright  Gopernicus,  thy  beams  far  hurl'd 
Shall  startle  well  this  intellectual  world, 
Break  the  delusive  dreams  of  ancient  lore, 
New  floods  of  light  on  every  subject  pour, 
Thro  Physic  Nature  many  a  winding  trace 
And  seat  the  Moral  on  her  sister's  base.  610 

Descartes  with  force  gigantic  toils  alone, 
Unshrines  old  errors  and  propounds  his  own; 


BOOK  1\  COLUMBIA!)  13i> 

Like  a  blind  Samson,  gropes  their  strong  abodes, 
Whelms  deep  in  dust  their  temples  and  their  gods. 
Buries  himself  with  those  false  codes  they  drew 
And  makes  his  followers  frame  and  fix  the  true. 

Bacon,  with  every  power  of  genius  fraught, 
Spreads  over  worlds  his  mantling  wings  of  thought, 
Draws  in  firm  lines  and  tells  in  nervous  tone 
All  that  is  yet  and  all  that  shall  be  known,  620 

Withes  Proteus  Matter  in  his  arms  of  might 
And  drags  her  tortuous  secrets  forth  to  light, 
Bids  men  their  unproved  systems  all  forego, 
Informs  them  what  to  learn  and  how  to  know, 
Waves  the  first  flambeau  thro  the  night  that  veils 
Egyptian  fables  and  Phenician  tales, 
Strips  from  all  plundering  Greece  the  cloke  she  wore 
And  shows  the  blunders  of  her  borrow'd  lore. 

One  vast  creation,  lately  bome  abroad, 
Cheers  the  young  nations  like  a  nurturing  god,         630 
Breathes  thro  them  all  the  same  wide  searching  sou!} 
Forms,  feeds,  refines  and  animates  the  whole, 
Guards  every  ground  they  gain  and  forward  brings 
Glad  science  soaring  on  cerulean  wings, 
Trims  her  gay  plumes,  directs  her  upward  courses- 
Props  her  light  pinions  and  sustains  her  force, 

\Sol.  II.  M 


134  €OLUMBIAD.  BOOK  IX. 

Instructs  all  men  her  golden  gifts  to  prize 

And  catch  new  glories  from  her  beamful  eyes, 

Tis  the  prolific  Press;  whose  tablet,  fraught 

By  graphic  Genius  with  his  painted  thought,  640 

Flings  forth  by  millions  the  prodigious  birth 

And  in  a  moment  stocks  the  astonisht  earth. 

Genius,  enamor'd  of  his  fruitful  bride. 
Assumes  new  force  and  elevates  his  pride. 
No  more,  recumbent  o'er  his  finger'd  style, 
He  plods  whole  years  each  copy  to  compile, 
Leaves  to  ludibrious  winds  the  priceless  page, 
Or  to  chance  fires  the  treasure  of  an  age; 
But  bold  and  buoyant,  with  his  sister  Fame, 
He  strides  oJer  earth,  holds  high  his  ardent  flame, 
Calls  up  Discovery  with  her  tube  and  scroll       • 
And  points  the  trembling  magnet  to  the  pole. 
Hence  the  brave  Lusitanians  stretch  the  sail, 
Scorn  guiding  stars  and  tame  the  midsea  gale; 
And  hence  thy  prow  deprest  the  boreal  wain, 
Rear'd  adverse  heavens,  a  second  earth  to  gain, 
Ran  down  old  Night,  her  western  curtain  thirPd 
And  snatcht  from  swaddling  shades  an  infant  world. 

Pvome,  Athens,  Memphis,  Tyre!  had  you  but  known 
•This  glorious  triad,  now  familiar  grown, 


BOOK  COLUMBIA!) 

The  Press,  the  Magnet  faithful  to  its  pole, 

And  earth's  own  movement  round  her  stedfast  goal. 

Ne'er  had  your  science,  from  that  splendid  height, 

Sunk  in  her  strength  nor  seen  succeeding  nighj 

Her  own  utility  had  forced  her  swar: 

All  nations  caught  the  fast  extending  ray, 

Nature  thro  all  her  kingdoms  oped  the  road, 

Resign'd  her  secrets  and  her  wealth  bestow'd. 

Her  moral  codes  a  like  dominion  rear'd, 

Freedom  been  born  and  folly  disappear'd,  670- 

War  and  his  monsters  sunk  beneath  her  ban 

And  left  the  world  to  reason  and  to  man. 

But  now  behold  him  bend  his  broader  way, 
Lift  keener  eyes  and  drink  diviner  day, 
All  systems  scrutinize,  their  truths  unfold, 
Prove  well  the  recent,  well  revise  the  old, 
Reject  all  mystery  and  define  with  force 
The  point  he  aims  at  in  his  laboring  course, — « 
To  know  these  elements,  learn  how  they  wind 
Their  wondrous  webs  of  matter  and  of  mind,  6'80 

What  springs,  what  guides  organic  life  requires. 
To  move,  rule,  rein  its  ever  changing  gyres, 
Improve  and  utilize  each  opening  birth 
And  aid  the  labors  of  this  nurturing  earthV 


1 36  COLUMBIAN  BOOi 

But  chief  their  moral  soul  he  learns  to  trace, 

That  stronger  chain  which  links  and  leads  the  race; 

Which  forms  and  sanctions  every  social  tie 

And  blinds  or  clears  their  intellectual  eye. 

lie  strips  that  soul  from  every  filmy  shade 

That  schools  had  caught,  that  oracles  had  made,        690 

Relumes  her  visual  nerve,  develops  strong 

The  rules  of  right,  the  subtle  shifts  of  wrong; 

Of  civil  power  draws  clear  the  sacred  line, 

Gives  to  just  government  its  right  divine, 

Forms,  varies,  fashions,  as  his  lights  increase. 

Till  earth  is  fill'd  with  happiness  and  peace. 

Already  taught,  thou  knowst  the  fame  that  waits 
His  rising  seat  in  thy  confederate  states. 
There  stands  the  model,  thence  he  long  shall  draw 
His  forms  of  policy,  his  traits  of  law;  700 

Each  land  shall  imitate,  each  nation  join 
The  well  based  brotherhood,  the  league  divine, 
Extend  its  empire  with  the  circling  sun, 
And  band  the  peopled  globe  within  its  federal  z(in£. 

As  thus  he  spoke,  returning  tears  of  joy 
Suffused  the  Hero's  cheek  and  pearl'd  his  eye: 
Unveil,  said  he,  my  friend,  and  stretch  once  mc 
Beneath  my  view  that  heaven-illumined  shore; 


DOOK  IX.  COLUMBIA*.  137 

Let  me  behold  her  silver  beams  expand 

To  lead  all  nations,  lighten  every  land,  710 

Instruct  the  total  race  and  teach  at  last 

Their  toils  to  lessen  and  their  chains  to  cast, 

Trace  and  attain  the  purpose  of  their  birth 

And  hold  in  peace  this  heritage  of  earth. 

The  Seraph  smiled  consent;  the  Hero's  eye 

Watcht  for  the  daybeam  round  the  changing  sky 


THE 


COLUMBIA!). 

BOOK  X. 


ARGUMENT. 

The  vision  resumed  and  extended  over  the  -whole 
earth.  Present  character  of  different  nations.  Future 
progress  of  society  with  respect  to  commerce;  discove- 
ries; inland  navigation;  philosophical,  medical  and  poli- 
tical knowledge.  Science  of  government.  Assimilation 
and  final  union  of  all  languages.  Its  effect  on  education 
and  on  the  advancement  of  physical  and  moral  science. 
The  physical  precedes  the  moral,  as  Phosphor  precedes 
the  Sun.  View  of  a  general  Congress  from  all  nations, 
assembled  to  establish  the  political  harmony  of  mankind 
'Conclusion. 


TKK 


COLUMBIAD. 

BOOK  X. 

JLXESPER  again  his  heavenly  power  display'd 
And  shook  the  yielding  canopy  of  shade. 
Sudden  the  stars  their  trembling  fires  withdrew? 
Returning  splendors  burst  upon  the  view, 
Floods  of  unfolding  light  the  skies  adorn 
And  more  than  midday  glories  grace  the  morn. 
So  shone  the  earth,  as  if  the  sideral  train, 
Broad  as  full  suns,  had  sail'd  the  etherial  plain; 
When  no  distinguish t  orb  could  strike  the  sight, 
But  one  clear  blaze  of  all  surrounding  light  10 

O'erflow'd  the  vault  of  heaven.  For  now  in  view 
Remoter  climes  and  future  ages  drew; 
Whose  deeds  of  happier  fame,  in  long  array. 
jCall'd  into  vision,  fill  the  newborn  day. 


142  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  X* 

Far  as  seraphic  power  could  lift  the  eye. 
Or  earth  or  ocean  bend  the  yielding  sky, 
Or  circling  suns  awake  the  breathing  gale, 
Drake  lead  the  way,  or  Cook  extend  the  sail; 
Where  Behren  sever'd,  with  adventurous  prow, 
Hesperia's  headland  from  Tartaria's  brow;  Zb 

Where  sage  Vancouvre's  patient  leads  were  hurl'd, 
Where  Deimen  stretcht  his  solitary  world; 
All  lands,  all  seas  that  boast  a  present  name 
And  all  that  unborn  time  shall  give  to  fame 
.Around  the  Pair  in  bright  expansion  rise. 
And  earth  in  one  vast  level  bounds  the  skies. 

They  saw  the  nations  tread  their  different  shores., 
Ply  their  own  toils  and  wield  their  local  powers, 
Their  present  state  in  all  its  views  disclose, 
Their  gleams  of  happiness,  their  shades  of  woes,         $6 
Plodding  in  various  stages  thro  the  range 
Of  man's  unheeded  but  unceasing  change. 
Columbus  traced  them  with  experienced  eye 
And  class'd  and  counted  all  the  flags  that  fly; 
He  markt  what  tribes  still  rove  the  savage  waste, 
What  cultured  realms  the  sweets  of  plenty  taste; 
Where  arts  and  virtues  fix  their  golden  reign, 
Or  peace  adorns  or  slaughter  dies  the  plain. 


BOOK  x  COLUMBIAD  143 

He  saw  the  restless  Tartar,  proud  to  roam, 
Move  with  his  herds  and  pitch  a  transient  home; 
Tibet's  long  tracts  and  China's  fixt  domain, 
Dull  as  their  despots,  yield  their  cultured  grain: 
Cambodia,  Siam,  Asia's  myriad  isles 
And  old  Indostan,  with  their  wealthy  spoils 
Attract  adventurous  masters  and  o'ershade 
Their  sunbright  ocean  with  the  wings  of  trade 
Arabian  robbers,  Syrian  Kurds  combined, 
Create  their  deserts  and  infest  mankind; 
The  Turk's  dim  crescent,  like  a  day-struck  star, 
As  Russia's  eagle  shades  their  haunts  of  war,  >Q 

Shrinks  from  insulted  Europe,  who  divide 
The  shatter'd  empire  to  the  Pontic  tide. 
He  traced  impervious  Afric,  where  alone 
She  lies  encircled  with  the  verdant  zone 
That  lines  her  endless  coast  and  still  sustains 
Her  northern  pirates  and  her  eastern  swains, 
Mourns  her  interior  tribes  purloin 'd  away 
And  chaiivd  and  sold  beyond  Atlantic  day. 
Brasilia's  wilds,  Mackensie's  savage  lands 
With  bickering  strife  inflame  their  furious  bands;        60 
Atlantic  isles  and  Europe's  cultured  shores 
Heap  their  vast  wealth,  exchange  their  growing  store* 


144  COLUMBIAN.  BOOK  X 

All  arts  inculcate,  new  discoveries  plan, 
Tease  and  torment  but  school  the  race  of  man. 
While  his  own  federal  states,  extending  far, 
Calm  their  brave  sons  now  breathing  from  the  war. 
Unfold  their  harbors,  spread  their  genial  soil 
And  welcome  freemen  to  the  cheerful  toil. 

A  sight  so  solemn,  as  it  varied  round, 
Fill'd  his  fond  heart  with  reveries  profound;  70 

He  felt  the  infinitude  of  thoughts  that  pass 
And  guide  and  govern  that  enormous  mass. 
The  cares  that  agitate,  the  creeds  that  blind, 
The  woes  that  waste  the  many-master'd  kind. 
The  distance  great  that  still  remains  to  trace, 
Ere  sober  sense  can  harmonize  the  race, 
Held  him  suspense,  imprest  with  reverence  meek, 
And  choked  his  utterance  as  he  wish'd  to  speak: 
When  Hesperthus:  The  paths  they  here  pursue. 
Wide  as  they  seem  unfolding  to  thy  view,  80 

Show  but  a  point  in  that  long  circling  course 
Which  cures  their  weakness  and  confirms  their  force, 
Lends  that  experience  which  alone  can  close 
The  scenes  of  strife  and  give  the  world  repose. 
Yet  here  thcu  seest  the  same  progressive  plan 
That  draws  for  mutual  succor  man  to  man, 


HOOK  \  I  OL1  \ilJL\U  145 

From  twain  to  tribe,  from  tribe  to  realm  dilates. 

In  federal  union  groups  a  hundred  states, 

Thro  all  their  turns  with  gradual  scale  ascends, 

Their  powers,  their  passions  and  their  interest  blends;  90 

While  growing  arts  their  social  virtues  spread, 

Enlarge  their  compacts  and  unlock  their  trade; 

Till  each  remotest  clan,  by  commerce  join'd, 

Links  in  the  chain  that  binds  all  humankind, 

Their  bloody  banners  sink  in  darkness  furl'd 

And  one  white  flag  of  peace  triumphant  walks  the  world 

As  infant  streams,  from  oozing  earth  at  first 

With  feeble  force  and  lonely  murmurs  burst, 

From  myriad  unseen  fountains  draw  the  rills 

And  curl  contentious  round  their  hundred  hills,  100 

Meet,  froth  and  foam,  their  dashing  currents  swell, 

O'er  crags  and  rocks  their  furious  course  impel, 

Impetuous  plunging  plow  the  mounds  of  earth 

And  tear  the  fostering  flanks  that  gave  them  birth; 

Mad  with  the  strength  they  gain,  they  thicken  deep 

Their  muddy  waves  and  slow  and  sullen  creep, 

O'erspread  whole  regions  in  their  lawless  pride, 

Then  stagnate  long,  then  shrink  and  curb  their  tide; 

Anon  more  tranquil  grown,  with  steadier  sway, 

Thro  broader  banks  they  shape  their  seaward,  way     1 10 
Vol.  II.  N 


146  ( OLLMH1A1).  BOOR  X 

From  different  climes  converging,  join  and  spread 

Their  mingled  waters  in  one  widening  bed, 

Profound,  transparent;  till  the  liquid  zone 

Bands  half  the  globe  and  drinks  the  golden  sun. 

Sweeps  onward  still  the  still  expanding  plain 

And  moves  majestic  to  the  boundless  main. 

Tis  thus  Society's  small  sources  rise; 

Thro  passions  wild  her  infant  progress  lies; 

Fear,  with  its  host  of  follies,  errors,  woes, 

Creates  her  obstacles  and  forms  her  foes;  120 

Misguided  interest,  local  pride  withstand, 

Till  long  tried  ills  her  growing  views  expand, 

Till  tribes  and  states  and  empires  find  their  place, 

Whose  mutual  wants  her  widest  walks  embrace; 

Enlighten'd  interest,  moral  sense  at  length, 

Combine  their  aids  to  elevate  her  strength, 

Lead  o'er  the  world  her  peace-commanding  sway 

And  light  her  steps  with  everlasting  day. 

From  that  markt  stage  of  man  we  now  behold 
More  rapid  strides  his  coming  paths  unfold; 
His  continents  are  traced,  his  islands  found, 
His  well  taught  sails  on  all  his  billows  bound, 
His  varying  wants  their  new  discoveries  ply 
And  seek  in  earth's  whole  range  their  sure  supply. 


BOOK  MlilAD.  14T 

First  of  his  future  stages,  thou  shah  ! 
His  trade  unfetter'd  and  his  ocean  free. 
From  thy  young  states  the  cq  )ling  sprii 

To  strip  from  vulture  War  his  naval  win{ 
In  views  so  just  all  Europe's  powers  combine, 
And  earth's  full  voice  approves  the  vast  design.  140 

Tho  still  her  inland  realms  the  combat  wage 
And  hold  in  lingering  broils  the  unsettled  age, 
Yet  no  rude  shocks  that  shake  the  crimson  plain 
Shall  more  disturb  the  labors  of  the  main; 
The  main  that  spread  so  wide  his  traveJl'd  way, 
Liberal  as  air,  impartial  as  the  day, 
That  all  thy  race  the  common  wealth  might  share, 
Exchange  their  fruits  and  fill  their  treasures  there, 
Their  speech  assimilate,  their  counsels  blend, 
Till  mutual  interest  fix  the  mutual  friend.  1 50 

Now  see,  my  son,  the  destined  hour  advance; 
Safe  in  their  leagues  commercial  navies  dance, 
Leave  their  curst  cannon  on  the  quay-built  strand 
And  like  the  stars  of  heaven  a  fearless  course  command. 

The  Hero  look'd;  beneath  his  wondering  eyes 
Gay  streamers  lengthen  round  the  seas  and  skies; 
The  countless  nations  open  all  their  stores, 
every  wave  and  crowd  the  lively  shores; 


148  COLUMBIA!;  BOOK  X 

Bright  sails  in  mingling  mazes  streak  the  air, 

And  commerce  triumphs  o'er  the  rage  of  war.  160 

From  Baltic  streams,  from  Elba's  opening  side, 
From  Rhine's  long  course  and  Texel's  laboring  tide. 
From  Gaul,  from  Albion,  tired  of  fruitless  fight,- 
From  green  Hibernia,  clothed  in  recent  light, 
Hispania's  strand  that  two  broad  oceans  lave. 
From  Senegal  and  Gambia's  golden  wave, 
f  ago  the  rich  and  Douro's  viny  shores, 
The  sweet  Canaries  and  the  soft  Azores, 
Commingling  barks  their  mutual  banners  hail 
And  drink  by  turns  the  same  distending  gale. 
Thro  Calpe's  strait  that  leads  the  Midland  main, 
From  Adria,  Pontus,  Nile's  resurgent  reign, 
The  sails  look  forth  and  wave  their  bandrols  high 
And  ask  their  breezes  from  a  broader  sky. 
Where  Asia's  isles  and  utmost  shorelands  bend, 
Like  rising  suns  the  sheeted  masts  ascend; 
Coast  after  coast  their  flowing  flags  unrol, 
From  Deimen's  rocks  to  Zembla's  ice-propt  pole, 
Where  Behren's  pass  collapsing  worlds  divides, 
Where  California  breaks  the  billowy  tides,  180 

Peruvian  streams  their  golden  margins  boast, 
Or  Chili  bluffs  or  Plata  flats  the  coast. 


BOOK*  COLUMBIA!)  149 

Where,  clothed  in  splendor,  his  Atlantic  way 
Spreads  the  blue  borders  of  Hesperian  day, 
From  all  his  havens,  with  majestic  sweep, 
The  swiftest  boldest  daughters  of  the  deep 
Swarm  forth  before  him;  till  the  cloudlike  train 
From  pole  to  pole  o'ersheet  the  whitening  main. 

So  some  primeval  seraph,  placed  on  high, 
From  heaven's  sublimest  point  o'erlook'd  the  sky,      190 
When  space  unfolding  heard  the  voice  of  God, 
And  suns  and  stars  and  systems  roll'd  abroad, 
Caught  their  first  splendors  from  his  beamful  eye, 
Began  their  years  and  vaulted  round  their  sky; 
Their  social  spheres  in  bright  confusion  play, 
Exchange  their  beams  and  fill  the  newborn  day. 

Nor  seas  alone  the  countless  barks  behold; 
Earth's  inland  realms  their  naval  paths  unfold. 
Her  plains,  long  portless,  now  no  more  complain 
Of  useless  rills  and  fountains  nursed  in  vain; 
Canals  curve  thro  them  many  a  liquid  line, 
Prune  their  wild  streams,  their  lakes  and  oceans  join. 
Where  Darien  hills  overlook  the  gulfy  tide, 
Cleft  in  his  view  the  enormous  banks  divide; 
Ascending  sails  their  opening  pass  pursue 
And  waft  the  sparkling  treasures  of  Peru. 

N2 


J5t>  tOLUMBIAD.  tfOOR  .\ 

Moxoe  resigns  his  stagnant  world  of  fen, 

Allures,  rewards  the  cheerful  toils  of  men, 

Leads  their  long  new  made  rivers  round  his  reign, 

Drives  off  the  stench  and  waves  his  golden  grain,      210 

Feeds  a  whole  nation  from  his  cultured  shore, 

Where  not  a  bird  could  skim  the  skies  before. 

From  Mohawk's  mouth,  far  westing  with  the  sun, 
Thio  all  the  midlands  recent  channels  run, 
Tap  the  redundant  lakes,  the  broad  hills  brave, 
And  Hudson  many  with  Missouri's  wave. 
From  dim  Superior,  whose  uncounted  sails 
Shade  his  full  seas  and  bosom  all  his  gales, 
New  paths  unfolding  seek  Mackensie's  tide, 
And  towns  and  empires  rise  along  their  side;  220 

Slave's  crystal  highways  all  his  north  adorn, 
Like  coruscations  from  the  boreal  morn. 
Proud  Missisippi,  tamed  and  taught  his  road, 
Flings  forth  irriguous  from  his  generous  flood 
Ten  thousand  watery  glades;  thi,t,  round  him  curl'd, 
v  cin  the  broad  bosom  of  the  western  world. 

From  the  red  banks  of  Arab's  odorous  tide 
Their  Isthmus  opens  and  strange  waters  glide; 
Europe  from  all  her  shores,  with  crowded  sails, 
Looks  thro  the  pass  and  calls  the  Asian  gales. 


1500K  X  COLUMBIAN  151 

Volga  and  Obi  distant  oceans  join, 
Delighted  Danube  weds  the  wasting  Rhine; 
Elbe,  Oder,  Neister  channel  many  a  plain, 
Exchange  their  barks  and  try  each  other's  main.. 
All  infant  streams  and  every  mountain  rill 
Choose  their  new  paths,  some  useful  task  to  fill, 
Each  acre  irrigate,  re-road  the  earth 
And  serve  at  last  the  purpose  of  their  birth. 

Earth,  garden'd  all,  a  tenfold  burden  brings; 
Her  fruits,  her  odors,  her  salubrious  springs  240 

Swell,  breathe  and  bubble  from  the  soil  they  grace, 
String  with  strong  nerves  the  renovating  race, 
Their  numbers  multiply  in  every  land, 
Their  toils  diminish  and  their  powers  expand; 
And  while  she  rears  them  with  a  statelier  frame 
Their  soul  she  kindles  with  diviner  flame, 
Leads  their  bright  intellect  with  fervid  glow 
Thro  all  the  mass  of  things  that  still  remain  to  know. 

He  saw  the  aspiring  genius  of  the  age 
Soar  in  the  Bard  and  strengthen  in  the  Sage:  250 

The  Bard  with  bolder  hand  assumes  the  lyre, 
Warms  the  glad  nations  with  unwonted  fire, 
Attunes  to  virtue  all  the  tones  that  roll 
Their  tides  of  transport  thro  the  expanding  soul. 


IS2  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  X 

For  him  no  more,  beneath  their  furious  gods, 

Old  ocean  crimsons  and  Olympus  nods, 

Uprooted  mountains  sweep  the  dark  profound 

Or  Titans  groan  beneath  the  rending  ground. 

No  more  his  clangor  maddens  up  the  mind 

To  crush,  to  conquer  and  enslave  mankind,  260 

To  build  on  ruin'd  realms  the  shrine  of  fame, 

And  load  his  numbers40  with  a  tyrant's  name. 

Far  nobler  objects  animate  his  tongue 

And  give  new  energies  to  epic  song; 

To  moral  charms  he  bids  the  world  attend, 

Fraternal  states  .their  mutual  ties  extend, 

O'er  cultured  earth  the  rage  of  conquest  cease, 

War  sink  in  night  and  nature  smile  in  peace. 

Soaring  with  science  then  he  learns  to  string 

Her  highest  harp  and  brace  her  broadest  wing, 

With  her  own  force  to  fray  the  paths  untrod, 

With  her  own  glance  to  ken  the  total  God, 

Thro  heavens  o'ercanopied  by  heavens  behold 

New  suns  ascend  and  other  skies  unfold, 

Social  and  system'd  worlds  around  him  shine, 

And  lift  his  living  strains  to  harmony  divine. 

The  Sage,  with  steadier  lights  directs  his  ken, 
Fh  1*0  twofold  nature  leads  the  walks  of  men, 


BOOK  \  I  OLUMBIAD.  15J 

lleniolds  her  moral  and  material  frames, 

Their  mutual  aids,  their  sister  laws  proclaims.  280 

Disease  before  him  with  its  causes  flies 

And  boasts  no  more  of  sickly  soils  and  skies; 

Mis  well  proved  codes  the  healing  science  aid, 

Its  base  establish  and  its  blessing  spread, 

With  long  wrought  life  to  teach  the  race  to  glow, 

And  vigorous  nerves  to  grace  the  locks  of  snow. 

From  every  shape  that  varying  matter  gives, 

That  rests  or  ripens,  vegetates  or  lives, 

His  chymic  powers  new  combinations  plan, 

Yield  new  creations,  finer  forms  to  man,  290 

High  springs  of  health  for  mind  and  body  trace, 

Add  force  and  beauty  to  the  joyous  race, 

Arm  with  new  engines  his  adventurous  hand, 

Stretch  o'er  these  elements  his  wide  command, 

Lay  the  proud  storm  submissive  at  his  feet, 

Change,  temper,  tame  all  subterranean  heat, 

"Probe  laboring  earth  and  drag  from  her  dark  side 

The  young  Volcano,  ere  his  voice  be  tried; 

i 
Walk  under  ocean,  ride  the  buoyant  air, 

Brew  the  soft  shower,  the  labor'd  land  repair,  30# 

A  fruitful  soil  o'er  sandy  deserts  spread 

And  clothe  with  culture  every  mountain's  head. 


1 54  COLUMBI  AD.  BOOK 

Where  system'd  realms  their  mutual  glories  lend 
And  well  taught  sires  the  cares  of  state  attend, 
Thro  every  maze  of  man  they  learn  to  wind, 
Note  each  device  that  prompts  the  Proteus  mind, 
What  soft  restraints  the  tempered  breast  requires 
To  taste  new  joys  and  cherish  new  desires^ 
Expand  the  selfish  to  the  social  flame, 
And  rear  the  soul  to  deeds  of  nobler  fame.  3 

They  mark,  in  all  the  past  records  of  praise, 
What  partial  views  heroic  zeal  could  raise; 
What  mighty  states  on  others'  ruins  stood 
And  built  unsafe  their  haughty  seats  in  blood; 
How  public  virtue's  ever  borrow'd  name 
With  proud  applauses  graced  the  deeds  of  shame, 
Bade  each  imperial  standard  wave  sublime, 
And  wild  ambition  havoc  every  clime; 
From  chief  to  chief  the  kindling  spirit  ran, 
Heirs  of  false  fame  and  enemies  of  man. 

Where  Grecian  states  in  even  balance  hung 
And  warm'd  with  jealous  fires  the  patriot's  tongue. 
The  exclusive  ardor  cherisht  in  the  breast 
Love  to  one  land  and  hatred  to  the  rest. 
And  where  the  flames  of  civil  discord  rage. 
And  Roman  arms  with  Roman  arms  engage, 


T.OOK  X 


COLUMBIAN 


155 


The  mime  of  virtue  rises  still  the  same 
To  build  a  Cesar's  as  a  Pompey's  name. 
But  now  no  more  the  patriotic  mind, 
To  narrow  views  and  local  laws  confined,  330 

Gainst  neighboring  b.ncis  directs  the  public  rage, 
Plods  for  a  clan  or  counsels  for  an  age; 
But  soars  to  loftier  thoughts  and  reaches  far 
Beyond  the  power,  beyoncl  the  wish  of  war; 
For  realms  and  ages  forms  the  general  aim, 

I  Makes  patriot  views  and  moral  views  the  same, 
Works  with  enlighten'd  zeal,  to  see  combined 
The  strength  and  happiness  of  humankind. 
Long  had  Columbus  with  delighted  eyes 

[f  Markt  all  the  changes  that  around  him  rise,  340 

v  Lived  thro  descending  ages  as  they  roll 
And  feasted  still  the  still  expanding  soul; 
jfVhen  now  the  peopled  regions  swell  more  neai\ 
And  a  mixt  noise  tumultuous  stuns  his  ear,  v 

At  first,  like  heavy  thunders  roll'd  in  air, 
Or  the  rude  shock  of  cannonading  war, 
Or  waves  resounding  on  the  craggy  shore,. 
Hoarse  roll'd  the  loud-toned  undulating  roar. 
But  soon  the  sounds  like  human  voices  rise, 
All  nations  pouring  undistinguisht  cries;  350 


156  COLUMBIA!),  BOOK 

Till  more  distinct  the  wide  concussion  grown 

Rolls  forth  at  times  an  accent  like  his  own. 

By  turns  the  tongues  assimilating  blend, 

And  smoother  idioms  over  earth  ascend; 

Mingling  and  softening  still  in  every  gale, 

O'er  discord's  din,  harmonious  tones  prevail. 

At  last  a  simple  universal  sound 

Winds  thro  the  welkin,  soothes  the  world  around. 

From  echoing  shores  in  swelling  strain  replies 

And  moves  melodious  o'er  the  warbling  skies.  3 

Such  wild  commotions  as  he  heard  and  view'd, 
In  fixt  astonishment  the  Hero  stood 
And  thus  besought  the  Guide:  Celestial  friend, 
What  good  to  man  can  these  dread  scenes  intend? 
Some  sore  distress  attends  that  boding  sound 
That  breathed  its  hoarse  tonations  o'er  the  ground. 
War  sure  hath  ceased;  or  have  my  erring  eyes 
Misread  the  glorious  visions  of  the  skies? 
Tell  then,  my  Seer,  if  future  earthquakes  sleep, 
Closed  in  the  conscious  caverns  of  the  deep,  3 

Waiting  the  day  of  vengeance,  when  to  roll 
And  rock  the  rending  pillars  of  the  pole. 
Or  tell  if  aught  more  dreadful  to  my  race 
In  these  dark  signs  thy  heavenly  wisdom  trace; 


BOOK  X  COLUMBIA!)  157 

And  why  the  loud  discordance  melts  again 
In  the  smooth  glidings  of  a  tuneful  strain. 

The  guardian  god  replied:  Thy  fears  give  o'er; 
War's  hosted  hounds  shall  havoc  earth  no  more; 
No  sore  distress  these  signal  sounds  foredoom, 
But  give  the  pledge  of  peaceful  years  to  come; 
The  tongues  of  nations  here  their  accents  blend. 
Till  one  pure  language  thro  the  world  extend. 

Thou  knowst  the  tale  of  Babel;  how  the  skies 

Fear'd  for  their  safety  as  they  felt  him  rise, 

Sent  unknown  jargons  mid  the  laboring  bands, 

Confused  their  converse  and  unnerved  their  hands, 

Dispersed  the  bickering  tribes  and  drove  them  far 

From  peaceful  toil  to  violence  and  war; 

Bade  kings  arise  with  bloody  flags  unfurl'd, 

Bade  pride  and  conquest  wander  o'er  the  world,        39Q 

Taught  adverse  creeds,  commutual  hatreds  bred., 

Till  holy  homicide  the  climes  o'erspread. 

— For  that  fine  apologue,  with  mystic  strain. 

Gave  like  the  rest  a  golden  age  50  to  mam 

Ascribed  perfection  to  his  infant  state, 

Science  unsought  and  all  his  arts  innate; 

Supposed  the  experience  of  the  growing  race 

Must  lead  him  retrograde  and  cramp  his  pace. 
Vol.  II.  O 


158  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  X 

Obscure  his  vision  as  his  lights  increast 

And  sink  him  from  an  angel  to  a  beast.  400 

Tis  thus  the  teachers  of  despotic  sway 
Strive  in  all  times  to  blot  the  beams  of  day, 
To  keep  him  curb'd  nor  let  him  lift  his  eyes 
To  see  where  happiness,  where  misery  lies. 
They  lead  him  blind,  and  o'er  each  newborn  light 
Cast  their  own  shadows,  renovate  the  night, 
Crush  every  art  that  might  the  mind  expand 
And  plant  with  demons  every  desert  land; 
That,  fixt  in  straiten'd  bounds,  their  lust  of  power 
May  ravage  still  and  still  the  race  devour,  410 

An    asy  prey  the  hoodwink'd  hordes  remain, 
And  oceans  roll  and  shores  extend  in  vain. 

Long  have  they  reign'd;  till  now  the  race  at  last 
Shake  off  their  manacles,  their  blinders  cast, 
O'errule  the  crimes  their  fraudful  foes  produce, 
By  ways  unseen  to  serve  the  happiest  use, 
Tempt  the  wide  wave,  probe  every  yielding  soil* 
Fill  with  their  fruits  the  hardy  hand  of  toil, 
Unite  their  forces,  wheel  the  conquering  car, 
Deal  mutual  death,  but  civilize  by  war.  420 

Dear  bought  the  experiment  and  hard  the  strife 
Of  social  man,  that  rear'd  his  arts  to  life. 


BOOK  \ 

His  passions  wild  that  agitate  the  mind, 

His  reason  calm,  their  watchful  guide  dcsign'd, 

While  yet  unreconciled,  his  march  restrain, 

Mislead  the  judgment  and  betray  the  man. 

Fear,  his  first  passion,  long  maintain  Yi  the  s 

Long  shrouded  in  its  glooms  the  mental  ray3 

Shook,  curb'd,  controll'd  his  intellectual  force 

And  bore  him  wild  thro  many  a  devious  course.         450 

Long  had  his  Reason,  with  experienced  eye, 

Perused  the  book  of  earth  and  scaled  the  sky, 

Led  fancy,  memory,  foresight  in  her  train, 

And  o'er  creation  stretcht  her  vast  domain; 

Yet  would  that  rival  Fear  her  strength  appal; 

In  that  one  conflict  always  sure  to  fall, 

Mild  Reason  shunn'd  the  foe  she  could  not  brave, 

Renounced  her  empire  and  remain'd  a  slave. 

But  deathless,  tho  debased,  she  still  could  find 
Some  beams  of  truth  to  pour  upon  the  mind;  440 

And  tho  she  dared  no  moral  code  to  scan, 
Thro  pnysic  forms  she  learnt  to  lead  the  man; 
To  strengthen  thus  his  opening  orbs  of  sight 
And  nerve  and  clear  them  for  a  stronger  light. 
That  stronger  light,  from  nature's  double  codes, 
Now  springs  expanding  and  his  doubts  explodes; 


160  COLUMBIAN  l)00K"\ 

All  nations  catcli  it,  all  their  tongues  combine 

To  hail  the  human  morn  and  speak  the  day  divine. 

At  this  blest  period,  when  the  total  race 
Shall  speak  one  language  and  all  truths  embrace,      45fl 
Instruction  clear  a  speedier  course  shall  find, 
And  open  earlier  on  the  infant  mind. 
No  foreign  terms  shall  crowd  with  barbarous  rules 
The  dull  unmeaning  pageantry  of  schools; 
Nor  dark  authorities  nor  names  unknown 
Fill  the  learnt  head  with  ignorance  not  its  own; 
But  wisdom's  eye  with  beams  unclouded  shine, 
And  simplest  rules  her  native  charms  define; 
One  living  language,  one  unborrow'd  dress 
Her  boldest  flights  with  fullest  force  express;  460 

Triumphant  virtue,  in  the  garb  of  truth,  ■ 
Win  a  pure  passage  to  the  heart  of  youth, 
Pervade  all  climes  wThere  suns  or  oceans  roll 
And  warm  the  world  with  one  great  moral  soul 
To  see,  facilitate,  attain  the  scope 
Of  all  their  labor  and  of  all  their  hope. 

As  early  Phosphor  on  his  silver  throne. 
Fair  type  of  truth  and  promise  of  the  sun, 
Smiles  up  the  orient  in  his  dew-dipt  ray, 
Illumes  the  front  of  heaven  and  leads  the  day;  470 


BOOKS:.  COLUMBIA!*  -fGl 

Thus  Physic  Science  with  exploring  eyes 

First  o'er  the  nations  bids  her  beauties  rise, 

Prepares  the  glorious  way  to  pour  abroad 

Her  sister's  brighter  beams,  the  purest  light  of  God 

Then  Moral  Science  leads  the  lively  mind 

Thro  broader  fields  and  pleasures  more  refined; 

Teaches  the  temper'd  soul,  at  one  vast  view, 

To  glance  o'er  time  and  look  existence  thro, 

See  worlds  and  worlds,  to  being's  formless  end, 

With  all  their  hosts  on  her  prime  powrer  depend,       480 

Seraphs  and  suns  and  systems,  as  they  rise, 

Live  in  her  life  and  kindle  from  her  eyes, 

Her  cloudless  ken,  her  all  pervading  soul 

Illume,  sublime  and  harmonize  the  whole; 

Teaches  the  pride  of  man  its  breadth  to  bound 

In  one  small  point  of  this  amazing  round, 

To  shrink  and  rest  where  nature  fixt  its  fate, 

A  line  its  space,  a  moment  for  its  date; 

Instructs  the  heart  an  ampler  joy  to  taste, 

And  share  its  feelings  with  each  human  breast,         490 

Expand  its  wish  to  grasp  the  total  kind 

Of  sentient  soul,  of  cogitative  mind; 

Till  mutual  love  commands  all  strife  to  cease, 

And  earth  join  joyous  in  the  songs  of  peace. 

20 


C0LUMB1  BOOK  \ 

Thus  heard  Columbus,  eager  to  behold 
The  filmed  Apocalypse  its  years  unfold; 
The  soul  stood  speaking  thro  his  gazing  eye-. 
And  thus  his  voice:  Oh  let  the  visions  rise! 
Command,  celestial  guide,  from  each  far  pole, 
John's  vision'd  morn  to  open  on  my  soul,  500 

And  raise  the  scenes,  by  his  reflected  light, 
Living  and  glorious  to  my  longing  sight. 
Let  heaven  unfolding  show  the  eternal  throne. 
And  all  the  concave  flame  in  one  clear  sun; 
On  clouds  of  fire,  with  angels  at  his  side, 
The  Prince  of  Peace,  the  King  of  Salem  ride, 
With  smiles  of  love  to  greet  the  bridal  earth, 
Call  slumbering  ages  to  a  second  birth, 
With  all  his  white-robed  millions  fill  the  train, 
And  here  commence  the  interminable  reign!  310 

Such  views,  the  Saint  replies,  for  sense  too  bright. 
Would  seal  thy  vision  in  eternal  night; 
Man  cannot  face  nor  seraph  power  display 
The  mystic  beams  of  such  an  awful  day. 
Enough  for  thee,  that  thy  delighted  mind 
Should  trace  the  temporal  actions  of  thy  kind; 
That  time's  descending  veil  should  ope  so  far 
Bevond  the  reach  of  wretchedness  and  war. 


BOOK  X  *  0L1  MBIAD.  163 

Till  all  the  paths  in  nature's  sapient  plan 

Fair  in  thy  presence  lead  the  steps  of  man,  520 

And  form  at  last,  on  earth's  extended  ball, 

Union  of  parts  and  happiness  of  all. 

To  thy  glad  ken  these  rolling  years  have  shown 

The  boundless  blessings  thy  vast  labors  crown, 

That,  with  the  joys  of  unborn  ages  blest, 

Thy  soul  exulting  may  retire  to  rest. 

But  see  once  more!  beneath  a  change  of  skies, 

The  last  glad  visions  wait  thy  raptured  eyes. 

Eager  he  look'd.  Another  train  of  years 
Had  roll'd  unseen  and  brighten'd  still  their  spheres;  530 
Earth  more  resplendent  in  the  floods  of  day 
Assumed  new  smiles  and  flush t  around  him  lay. 
Green  swell  the  mountains,  calm  the  oceans  roll, 
Fresh  beams  of  beauty  kindle  round  the  pole; 
Thro  all  the  range  where  shores  and  seas  extend. 
In  tenfold  pomp  the  works  of  peace  ascend. 
Robed  in  the  bloom  of  spring's  eternal  year, 
And  ripe  with  fruits  the  same  glad  fields  appear; 
O'er  hills  and  vales  perennial  gardens  run, 
Cities  unwaliM  stand  sparkiing  to  the  sun;  540 

The  streams  all  freighted  from  the  bounteous  plain 
Swell  with  the  load  and  labor  to  the  main, 


164  COLUMBIAD.  BOOK  £. 

Whose  stormless  waves  commands  a  steadier  gale 
And  prop  the  pinions  of  a  bolder  sail: 
Sway'd  with  the  floating  weight  each  ocean  toils.,- 
And  joyous  nature's  full  perfection  smiles. 

Fill'd  with  unfolding  fate,  the  vision'd  age 
Now  leads  its  actors  on  a  broader  stage; 
When  clothed  majestic  in  the  robes  of  state, 
Moved  by  one  voice,  in  general  congress  meet  550 

The  legates  of  all  empires.  Twas  the  place 
Where  man  first  sought  to  socialize  his  race; 
Ere  yet  beguiled,  the  dark  delirious  hordes 
Began  to  fight  for  altars  and  for  lords; 
Nile  washes  still  the  soil  and  feels  once  more 
The  works  of  wisdom  press  his  peopled  shore. 

In  this  mid  site,  this  monumental  clime, 
Rear'd  by  all  realms  to  brave  the  wrecks  of  time 
A  spacious  dome  swells  up,  commodious  great, 
The  last  resort,  the  unchanging  scene  of  state.  560 

On  rocks  of  adamant  the  walls  ascend, 
Tall  columns  heave  and  sky-like  arches  bend; 
Bright  o'er  the  golden  roofs  the  glittering  spire- 
Far  in  the  concave  meet  the  solar  fires; 
Four  blazing  fronts,  with  gates  unfolding  high, 
Look  with  immortal  splendor  round  the  skv 


BOOKX  COIXMBIAI)  £63 

Hither  the  delegated  sires  ascend, 
And  all  the  cares  of  every  clime  attend. 

As  the  blest  guardian  guides,  to  whom  was  given 
To  light  the  suns  and  steer  the  stars  of  heaven,         57ft 
(When  one  great  cosmogyre  has  proved  their  spheres, 
And  time  well  taught  them  how  to  wind  their  years) 
Shall  meet  in  general  council;  call'd  to  state 
The  laws  and  labors  that  their  charge  await; 
To  learn,  to  teach,  to  settle  how  to  hold 
Their  course  more  glorious,  as  their  lights  unfold: 
From  all  the  bounds  of  space  (the  mandate  known) 
They  wing  their  passage  to  the  eternal  throne; 
Each  thro  his  far  dim  sky  illumes  the  road 
And  sails  and  centres  tow'rd  the  mount  of  God;         580 
There,  in  mid  universe,  their  sek  ts 
Exchange  their  counsels  and  their  works  compare: 
So,  from  all  tracts  of  earth,  this  gathering  throng 
In  ships  and  chariots  shape  their  course  along, 
Reach  with  unwonted  speed  the  place  assigned 
To  hear  and  give  the  counsels  of  mankind. 

South  of  the  sacred  mansion,  first  resort 
The  assembled  sires,  and  pass  the  spacious  court. 
Here  in  his  porch  earth's  figured  Genius  stands, 
Truth's  mighty  mirror  poising  in  his  hands;  590 


166  COLXJMBIAD.  BOOK  \ 

Graved  on  the  pedestal  and  chased  in  gold, 

Man's  noblest  arts  their  symbol  forms  unfold, 

His  tillage  and  his  trade;  with  all  the  store 

Of  wondrous  fabrics  and  of  useful  lore: 

Labors  that  fashion  to  his  sovereign  sway 

Earth's  total  powers,  her  soil  and  air  and  sea; 

Force  them  to  yield  their  fruits  at  his  known  call. 

And  bear  hk  mandates  round  the  rolling  ball. 

Beneath  the  footstool  all  destructive  things, 

The  mask  of  priesthood  and  the  mace  of  kings,         600 

Lie  trampled  in  the  dust;  for  here  at  last 

Fraud,  folly,  error  all  their  emblems  cast. 

Each  envoy  here  unloads  his  wearied  hand 

Of  some  old  idol  from  his  native  land; 

One  flings  a  pagod  on  the  mingled  heap, 

One  lays  a  crescent,  one  a  cross  to  sleep; 

Swords,  sceptres,  mitres,  crowns  and  globes  and  stars, 

Codes  of  false  fame  and  stimulants  to  wars 

Sink  in  the  settling  mass;  since  guile  began, 

These  are  the  agents  of  the  woes  of  man.  610 

Now  the  full  concourse,  where  the  arches  bend, 
Pour  thro  by  thousands  and  their  seats  ascend. 
Far  as  the  centred  eye  can  range  around, 
Or  the  deep  trumpet's  solemn  voice  resound, 


BOO£X  GOLUMBIAD.  16T 

Long  rows  of  reverend  sires  sublime  extend, 

And  cares  of  worlds  on  every  brow  suspend. 

High  in  the  front,  for  soundest  wisdom  known, 

A  sire  elect  in  peerless  grandeur  shone; 

He  open'd  calm  the  universal  cause 

To  give  each  realm  its  limit  and  its  laws,  620 

Bid  the  last  breath  of  tired  contention  cease 

And  bind  all  regions  in  the  leagues  of  peace; 

Till  one  confederate,  condependent  sway 

Spread  with  the  sun  and  bound  the  walks  of  day. 

One  centred  system,  one  all  ruling  soul 

Live  thro  the  parts  and  regulate  the  whole. 

Here  then,  suid  Hesper,  with  a  blissful  smile, 
Behold  the  fruits  of  thy  long  years  of  toil. 
To  yon  bright  borders  of  Atlantic  day 
Thy  swelling  pinions  led  the  trackless  way  63& 

And  taught  mankind  such  useful  deeds  to  dare. 
To  trace  new  seas  and  happy  nations  rear; 
Till  by  fraternal  hands  their  sails  unfurl'd 
Have  waved  at  last  in  union  o'er  the  world. 

Then  let  thy  stedfast  soul  no  more  complain 
Of  dangers  brave  a  and  griefs  endured  in  vain, 
Of  courts  insidious,  envy's  poison'd  stings, 
The  loss  of  empire  ana  the  frown  of  kings; 


168  COLUMBIAN.  UOOKX 

While  these  broad  views  thy  better  thoughts  compose 
To  spurn  the  malice  of  insulting  foes;  640 

And  all  the  joys  descending  ages  gain 
Repay  thy  labors  and  remove  thy  pain. 


NOTES 


TO 


VOLUME  II. 


Vol.  II. 


THE 


COLUMBIAN 

NOTES. 

No.  37. 
See  the  black  Prison  Ship's  expanding  womb 
Impested  thousands,  quick  and  dead,  entomb. 

Book  VI.  Line  35. 

1  HE  systematic  and  inflexible  course  of  cruelties 
exercised  by  the  British  armies  on  American  pri- 
soners during  the  three  first  years  of  the  war  were 
doubtless  unexampled  among  civilized  nations.  Con- 
sidering it  as  a  war  against  rebels,  neither  their  officers 
nor  soldiers  conceived  themselves  bound  by  the  ordi- 
nary laws  of  war. 

The  detail  of  facts  on  this  subject,  especially  in  what 
concerned  the  prison  ships,  has  not  been  sufficient- 
ly noticed  in  our  annals;  at  least  not  so  much  noticed 
as  the  interest  of  public  morals  would  seem  to  require. 
Mr.  Boudinot,  who  was  the  American  commissary  of 
prisoners  at  the  time,  has  since  informed  the  author  of 
this  poem  that  in  one  prison  ship  alone,  called  the  Jer- 


172  COLUMBIA!).  NW 

sey,  which  was  anchored  near  Newyork,  eleven  thou- 
.sand  American  prisoners  died  in  eighteen  months; 
almost  the  whole  of  them  from  the  barbarous  treat- 
ment of  being  stifled  in  a  crowded  hold  with  infected 
air,  and  poisoned  with  unwholesome  food. 

There  were  several  other  prison  ships,  as  well  as  the 
sugar-house  prison  in  the  city,  whose  histories  ought 
to  be  better  known  than  they  are.  I  say  this  >  t  from  any 
sort  of  enmity  to  the  British  nation,  for  I  have  none. 
I  respect  the  British  nation;  as  will  be  evident  from 
the  views  I  have  given  of  her  genius  and  institutions 
in  the  course  of  this  work.  I  would  at  all  times  render 
that  nation  every  service  consistent  with  my  duty  to 
my  own;  and  surely  it  is  worthy  of  her  magnanimity 
to  consider  as  a  real  service  every  true  information 
given  her  relative  to  the  crimes  of  her  agents  in 
distant  countries.  These  crimes  are  as  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  the  nation  at  home  as  they  are  to  the  temper 
of  her  laws. 

No.  38. 
Myrtles  and  laurels  equal  honors  joined. 
Which  arms  had  purchased  and  the  Muses  twined; 

Book  VI.  Line  273. 

General  Burgoyne  had  gained  some  celebrity  by 
his  pen,  as  well  as  by  his  sword,  previous  to  the 
American  war.  He  was  author  of  the  comedy  called 
The  Heiress,  and  of  some  other  theatrical  pieces  which 
had  been  well  received  on  the  London  theatres. 


ES  fcQLl  IfBIAD 

No.  39. 
Deep  George's  loaded  lake  reluctant  guides 
Their  bounding  barges  o'er  his  sacred  tides. 

Book  VL  Line  285. 

The  water  of  Lake  George  was  held  in  particular 
veneration  by  the  French  catholics  of  Canada.  Of  this 
they  formerly  made  their  holy  water;  which  was  car- 
ried and  distributed  to  the  churches  thro  the  province 
and  probably  produced  part  of  the  revenues  of  the 
clergy.  This  water  is  said  to  have  been  chosen  for 
the  purpose  on  account  of  its  extreme  clearness.  The 
lake  was  called  Lac  du  Saint  Sacre?nent. 

No.  40. 
His  savage  hordes  the  murderous  Johnson  leads> 
Files  thro  the  woods  and  treads  the  tangled  weeds^ 

Book  VI.  Line  389. 

This  was  general  sir  John  Johnson,  an  American 
royalist  in  the  British  service.  He  was  the  son  of  sir 
William  Johnson,  who  had  been  a  rich  proprietor  and 
inhabitant  in  the  Mohawk  country  in  the  colony  of 
Ncwyork,  and  had  been  employed  by  the  king  as 
superintendent  of  Indian  affairs.  Sir  William  had 
married  a  Mohawk  savage,  wife;  and  it  was  supposed 
that  the  great  influence  which  he  had  long  exercised 
©ver  that  and  the  neighboring  tribes  must  have  de- 
scended to  his  son.  It  was  on  this  account  that  he  was 
employed  on  the  expedition  of  Burgoyne;  in  which  he 
had  the  rank  of  brigadier  general  and  the  special  di- 
rection of  the  savages. 

?2 


1 74  COLUMBIA!).  NOTES. 

No.  41. 

Are  these  thy  trophits,  Carleton!  these  the  swords 
Thy  hand  unsheathed  and  gave  the  savage  hordes, 

Book  VI.  Line  685. 

General  sir  Guy  Carleton,  afterwards  lord  Dorces- 
tcr,  was  the  British  governor  of  Canada  and  sir 
tendent  of  Indian  affairs  Lme  of  Burgoyne's 

campaign.  ith  the  warlike 

tribes  who  inhabited  the  west  of  C  nd  the  bor- 

ders of  the  lakes  he  was  ordered  by  the  mini  / 
adopt  the  barbarous  and  unjustifiable  measure  ol  arm- 
ing and  bringing  them  into  the  king's  service  in  aid  of  v 
this  expedition. 

This  was  doubtless  done  with  the  consent  of  Bur- 
goyne,  tho  he  seems  to  have  been  apprehensive  of  the 
difficulty  of  managing  a  race  of  men  whose  manners 
were  so  ferocious  and  whose  motives  to  action  must 
have  been  so  different  from  those  of  the  principal  par- 
ties in  the  war.  Burgoyne,  in  his  narrative  of  this  cam- 
paign, informs  us  that  he  took  precautions  to  discourage 
that  inhuman  mode  of  warfare  which  had  been  cus- 
tomary among  those  savages.  He  ordered  them  to  kill 
none  but  such  persons  as  they  should  find  in  arms 
fighting  against  the  king's  troops;  to  spare  old  men, 
women,  children  and  prisoners;  and  not  to  scalp  any 
but  such  as  they  should  kill  in  open  war.  He  intimated 
to  them  that  he  should  not  pay  for  any  scalps  but  those 
\hus  taken  from  enemies  killed  in  arms. 

It  is  unfortunate  for  the  reputation  of  the  general 
This  government,  that  they  did  not  reflect  on  the 


sOi.  COLUMBIA!)  175 

futility  of  such  an  order  and  the  improbability  of  its 
being  executed.  A  certain  price  was  offered  for 
scalps;  the  savages  must  know  that  in  a  bag  of  scalps, 
packed  and  dried  and  brought  into  c  mp  and  counted 
out  before  the  commissary  to  receive  payment,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  distinguish  the  political 
opinions  or  the  occupation,  uge  or  sex  of  the  heads  to 
which  they  had  belonged;  it  could  not  be  ascertained 
whether  they  had  been  taken  from  Americans  or 
British)  whigs  or  tcries,  soldiers  killed  in  arms  or 
killed  after  they  had  resigned  their  arms,  militia  men 
or  peasants,  old  or  young,  male  or  female. 

The  event  proved  the  deplorable  policy  of  employing 
such  auxiliaries,  especially  in  such  multitudes  as  were 
brought  together  on  this  occasion.  No  sooner  did  hos- 
tilities begin  bet  veen  the  two  armies  than  these  people, 
who  could  have  no  knowledge  of  the  cause  nor  affec- 
tion for  either  party,  and  whose  only  object  was  plun- 
der and  pay,  began  their  indiscriminate  and  ungovern- 
able ravages  on  both  sides.  They  robbed  and  murdered 
peasants,  whether  royalists  or  others;  men,  women,  chil- 
dren, straggling  and  wounded  soldiers  of  both  armies. 
The  tragical  catastrophe  of  a  young  lady  of  the  name  of 
Macrea,  whose  story  is  almost  literally  detailed  in  the 
foregoing  paragraphs  of  the  text,  is  well  known.  It 
made  a  great  impression  on  the  public  mind  at  the 
time,  both  in  England  and  America. 

General  Carleton,  in  the  preceding  campaigns,  when 
the  war  was  carried  into  Canada,  had  been  applauded 
for  his  humanity  in  the  treatment  of.  prisoners.  But 
the  part  he  took  in  this  measure  of  associating  the 


17  G  OOLUMBIAD.  ft 1  ]> 

savages  in  the  operations  of  the  British  army  was  a 
stain  upon  his  character;  and  the  measure  was  highly 
deuimental  to  the  royal  cause,  on  account  of  the  gene- 
ral indignation  it  excited  thro  the  country. 

No.  42. 

That  no  proud  privilege  fr^om  birth  can  spring, 

.Vo  right  divine  nor  compact  form  a  king; 

Book  VII  Line 

The  assumed  right  of  kings  or  that  supreme  autho- 
rity which  one  man  exercises  over  a  nation,  and  for 
which  he  is  not  held  accountable,  has  been  contended 
for  on  various  grounds.  It  has  been  sometimes  called 
the  right  of  conquest;  in  which  is  involved  the  absolute 
disposal  of  the  lives  and  lubors  of  the  conquered  nation, 
in  favor  of  the  victorious  chief  and  his  descendents  to 
perpetuity.  Sometimes  it  is  called  the  divine  right;  in 
-vrhich  case  kings  are  considered  as  #ie  vicegerents  of 
God. 

This  notion  is  very  ancient,  and  it  is  almost  univer- 
sal among  modern  nations.  Homer  is  full  of  it;  and 
from  his  unaffected  recurrence  to  the  same  idea  every 
where  in  his  poems,  it  is  evident  that  in  his  day  it  was 
not  called  in  question.  The  manner  in  which  the  Jews 
were  set  at  work  to  constitute  their  first  king  proves 
that  they  were  convinced  that,  if  they  must  have  a 
king,  he  must  be  given  them  from  God  and  receive 
that  solemn  consecration  which  should  establish  his 
authority  on  the  same  divine  right  which  was  com- 
mon to  other  nations  from  whom  they  borrowed  the 
principle. 


fBIAD.  177 

There  are  some  few  instances  in  history  therein, 
this  divine  right  has  been  ^et  aside;  but  it  )  M  gene- 
rally been  owing  rather  to  the  violence  of  circumstan- 
ces, which  sometimes  drive  men  to  act  contrary  to 
their  prejudices,  tho  they  still  retain  them,  than  to  any 
effort  of  reasoning  by  which  they  convinced  them- 
selves that  this  was  a  prejudice  and  that  no  dhine 
right  existed  in  reality.  For  it  does  not  violate  this 
supposed  right  to  change  one  king  for  another  or  one 
race  of  kings  for  another,  tho  done  in  a  manner  the 
most  unjust  and  inhuman.  In  this  case  the  same  divine 
right  remains  and  only  changes,  with  the  diadem,  from 
one  head  to  another.  And  tho  this  change  should  hap- 
pen six  times  in  one  day  (as  in  one  instance  it  has  ucne 
in  Algiers  by  the  murder  of  six  successive  kings)  they 
would  still  say  it  was  God  who  did  it  all;  and  the  action 
would  only  tend  to  prove  to  the  credulous  people,  that 
God  was  made  after  their  own  image,  as  changeable 
as  themselves. 

It  is  only  in  the  case  of  Tarquin  and  a  few  others 
(whose  overthrow  has  been  followed  by  a  more  popu- 
lar form  of  government)  that  it  can  be  said  that  the 
principle  of  the  divine  right  has  been  disregarded,  laid 
aside  and  forgotten  for  any  length  of  time. 

The  English  are  perhaps  the  first  and  only  people 
that  ever  overturned  this  doctrine  of  the  divinity  of 
kings,  without  changing  their  form  of  government.  This 
was  brought  on  by  circumstances  and  took  effect  in  the 
expulsion  of  James  II.  Books  were  then  written  to 
prove  that  the  divine  right  of  kings  did  not  exist;  at 
least,  not  in  the  sense  in  which  it  had  been  understood. 


178  COLUMBIA!).  KOTES. 

And  these  writings  completely  silenced  the  old  doc- 
trine in  England.  This  indeed  was  gaining  an  im- 
mense advantage  in  favor  of  liberty;  tho  the  effort  of 
reason,  to  arrive  at  it,  seems  to  be  so  small. 

But  while  the  English  were  discarding  the  old  prin- 
ciple they  set  up  a  new  one;  which  indeed  is  not  so 
pernicious  because  it  cannot  become  so  extensive,  but 
which  is  scarcely  more  reasonable:  it  is  the  right  of 
kings  by  compact;  that  is  a  compact,  whether  written 
or  understood,  by  which  the  representatives  of  a  nation 
are  supposed  to  bind  their  constituents  and  their  de- 
scendents  to  be  the  subjects  of  a  certain  prince  and  of 
his  descendents  to  perpetuity.  This  singular  doctrine 
is  developed  with  perspicuity,  but  ill  supported  by  ar- 
gument, in  Burke's  Reflections  on  the  French  Re- 
votut  ion. 

The  principle  of  the  American  government  denies 
the  right  of  any  representatives  to  make  such  a  com- 
pact, and  the  right  of  any  prince  to  carry  it  into  execu- 
tion if  it  were  made.  Whatever  varieties  or  mixtures 
there  may  be  in  the  forms  of  government,  there  are 
but  two  distinct  principles  on  which  government  is 
founded.  One  supposes  the  source  of  power  to  be  out 
of  the  people  and  that  the  governor  is  not  accountable 
to  them  for  the  manner  of  using  it;  the  other  supposes 
the  source  of  power  to  be  in  the  people  and  that  the 
governor  is  accountable  to  them  for  the  manner  of 
using  it.  The  latter  is  our  principle.  In  this  sense  no 
right  divine  nor  compact  can  form  a  king;  that  is,  a 
person  exercising  underlved  and  unreverting  power. 


NT)  J  COLUMBIA!).  1  7S> 

No.  43. 
But  while  dread  Elliott  shakes  the  Midland  wave, 
They  strive  in  vain  the  Calfiian  rock  to  brave. 

Book  All   Line  89. 

The  English  general  Elliott  commanded  the  post  of 
Gibraltar,  against  which  the  combined  forces  of; 
and  Spain  made  a  vigorous  but  fruitless  attack  in  the 
year  1781.  This  attack  furnished  the  subjects  for  two 
celebrated  pictures  alluded  to  in  the  eighth  book:  The 
burning  of  the  Floating  Batteries,  painted  by  Copley; 
and  The  Sortie,  painted  by  Trumbull. 

No.  44. 
7b  guide  the  sailor  in  his  wandering  way 
See  Godfrey's  glass  reverse  the  beams  of  day. 

Book  VIII.  Line  581. 

It  is  less  from  national  vanity  than  from  a  regard  to 
iruth  and  a  desire  of  rendering  personal  justice,  that  the 
author  wishes  to  rectify  the  history  of  science  in  the 
circumstance  here  alluded  to.  The  instrument  known 
by  the  name  of  Hadley's  Quadrant,  now  universally  in 
use  and  generally  attributed  to  Dr.  Hadley,  was  in- 
vented by  Thomas  Godfrey  of  Philadelphia.  See  Jef- 
fersons's  Notes  on  Virginia;  likewise  Miller's  Retro- 
spect of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  in  which  the  original 
documents  relative  to  Godfrey's  invention  are  fully 
detailed. 


J80  COLUMBIA!).  NOTES 

No.  45. 
West  with  his  onvr.  great  soul  the  canvas  warms. 
Create*^  inspires,  impassions  human  forms. 

Book  VIII.  Line  587. 

Benjamin  West,  president  of  the  Royal  Academy 
in  London,  was  born  and  educated  in  Pennsylvania. 
At  the  age  of  twenty  three  he  went  to  Italy  to  perfect 
his  {a&te  in  the  art  to  which  his  genius  irresistibly  im- 
pelled him;  in  which  he  was  destined  to  cast  a  splen- 
dor upon  the  age  in  which  he  lives  and  probably  to 
excel  all  his  cotemporaries,  so  far  at  least  as  we  can 
judge  from  the  present  state  of  their  works.  After 
passing  two  years  in  that  country  of  models,  where 
canvas  and  marble  seem  to  contribute  their  full  pro- 
portion of  the  population,  he  went  to  London. 

Here  he  soon  rendered  himself  conspicuous  for  the 
boldness  of  his  designs,  in  daring  to  shake  off  the 
trammels  of  the  art  so  far  as  to  paint  modern  history 
in  modern  dress.  He  had  already  staggered  the  con- 
noisseurs in  Italy  while  he  was  there,  by  his  picture  of 
The  Savage  Chief  taking  leave  of  his  family  on  going  to 
tvar.  This  extraordinary  effort  of  the  American  pencil 
on  an  American  subject  excited  great  admiration  at 
Venice.  The  picture  was  engraved  in  that  city  by 
Bartellozzi,  before  either  he  or  West  went  to  England. 
The  artists  were  surprised  to  find  that  the  expression 
of  the  passions  of  men  did  not  depend  on  the  robes 
they  wore.  And  his  early  works  in  London,  The  Death 
of  Wolfe,  The  Battles  of  the  Boyne,  Lahogue,  &c,  en- 


XOTKS  COLUMBIA!)  181 

graved  by  Woollett  and  other:,  not  only  established  his 
reputation,  but  produced  a  revolution  in  the  Art.  So 
that  modern  dre»s  has  now  become  as  familiar  in  ficti- 
tious as  in  reai  lite;  it  buing  justly  considered  essential 
in  painting  modern  history. 

The  engraving  from  his  Wolfe  has  been  often  copied 
in  France,  Italy  and  Germany;  and  it  may  be  said  that 
in  this  picture  the  revolution  in  painting  really  origi- 
nated. It  would  now  be  reckoned  as  preposterous  in 
an  artist  to  dress  modern  personages  in  Grecian  or 
Roman  habits,  as  it  was  before  to  give  them  the  garb 
of  the  age  and  country  to  which  they  belonged. 

The  merit  of  Mr.  West  was  early  noticed  and  en- 
couraged by  the  king;  who  took  him  into  pay  with  a 
convenient  salary,  and  the  title  of  historical  painter  to 
his  majesty.  In  this  situation  he  has  decorated  the 
king's  palaces,  chapels  and  churches  with  most  of 
those  great  pictures  from  the  English  history  and 
from  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  which  compose 
so  considerable  a  portion  of  his  works. 

The  following  catalogue  of  his  pictures  was  fur- 
nished me  by  Mr.  West  himself  in  the  year  1802.  It 
comprises  only  his  principal  productions  in  historical 
painting,  and  only  his  jinis/ied  pictures;  without  men- 
tioning his  numerous  portraits  or  his  more  numerous- 
sketches  and  drawings. 

The  pictures  marked  thus  *  have  been  engraved. 
The  ciphers  express  the  size  of  the  pictures.  When 
the  same  subject  is  mentioned  more  than  once,  there 
is  more  than  one  picture  on  that  subject. 

Vol.  II.  Q 


182 


i  OLIMBIAD 


NOTES. 


IN  THE  QUEEN'S  HOUSE 


*  Regulus  departing  from  Rome. 

*  Death  of  Wolfe. 

'  Death  of  Epaminondas. 

v  Death  of  chevalier  Bayard 

*  Cyrus,  with  a  king-  and  family 

captives. 

IN  THE  KING'S  APAR 
Edward  III.  crossing  the  Somme. 
Edward  III.  crowning  Ribemond 

at  Calais. 

The  Six  Burgesses  of  Calais  he- 
fore  Edward. 

Rattle  of  Cressy,  Edward  em- 
bracing his  son. 

St.  George  destroying  the  Dra- 
gon. 

Battle  of  Poicticrs,  kins:  of 
France  prisoner  to  the  Black 
Prince. 

Institution  of  the  Order  of  the 
Garter. 


*  Hannibal  sworn  when  a  child. 
Damsel  accusing  Peter. 
Apotheosis    of    the    two  young 

princes. 
Gcrmanicus,  with  Segestus  and 

his  daughter  prisoners. 

TMENTS  AT  WINDSOR. 

Battle  of  Nevilcross. 
Christ's  Crucifixion. 
The  same  on   glass  for  the 

window    of     the    church    at 

Windsor.  56  feet  by  28. 
Peter,  John  and  women  at  the 

Sepulchre. 
The  same  on  glass  for  the  east 

window  of  the  same  church. 

36  feet  by  28. 
The    Angels    appearing  to    the 

Shepherds. 
Nativity  of  Christ. 
Kings  presenting  gifts  to  Christ. 


IN  THE  MARBLE  GALLERY,  WINDSOR  CASTLE. 

JIvmen  dancing  with  the  Hours     Boys  with    the    insignia   of  the 

before  Peace  and  Plenty.  Fine  Arts. 

Bovs  with  the  insignia  of  Riches. 

IN  THE  KING'S  CHAPEL  AT  WINDSOR. 
A  complete  history  of  Revealed  Religion,  divided  into  four  dispen- 
sations and  comprised  in  thirty  eight  pictures. 


Patriarchal  Dispensation. 
Adam  and  Eve  created. 

9  feet  by  6. 
Adam  and  Eve  driven  from  Pa- 


radise. 

do. 

The  Deluge. 

do. 

Noah   sacrificing. 

do. 

Abraham     going 

to 

sacrifice 

Isaac. 

do. 

Birth  of  Jacoh  and  Esau.      do. 


Death,  of  Jacob,  surrounded  by 
his  sons.  9  feet  by  6. 

Bondage  of  the  Israelites  in 
Egypt.  do. 

Mosaical  Dispensation. 

Moses  called.  do. 

Moses  and  Aaron  before  Phara- 
oh, their  rods  turned  I 
pents.  15  feel  by  10 


XOTKS. 


COLUMB1  \D. 


18. 


Pli  iraoh's   \nr.\  \<<^\  in  ! 

Most  >  r<  reiving  tiu-  Law. 

is  feet  by  K\ 

Moses  consecrating  Aaron  and 
bii  sons  to  the  Priesthood. 

IS  feet  by  10. 

Moses  shows  the  Brazen    Ser- 
pent, do. 

Hoses  on  moont  Pisgah  sees  the 
Promised  Land  and  dies. 

«J  feet  by  G. 

Joshua  passing  the  Jordan,  do. 

The  twelve  Tribes  drawing  their 
lots.  do. 

David  called  and  anointefl.    do. 

Gospel  Dispensation. 

John  Baptist  called  and  named. 

do. 

Christ  born.  do. 

Christ  offered  gifts  by  the  wise 

men.  ■         do. 

Christ  among  the  Doctors,    do. 
Christ    baptized    and  the    Holy 
Spirit  descending  on  him. 

13  feet  by  10. 
Christ  healing  the  sick.  do. 

Christ's  last  Supper.  do. 


( Christ's  ( Irueifi  xion.  36  feet  b 
Christ's    Resurrection,     Peter, 
.John  and  the  w omen  at  the 
Sepulchre.  do. 

•  Christ's  Ascension. 

IS  feet  by  1- 
Peter's  first  Sermon.  Descent  of 
the  Hol\  Spirit.      15  feet  by  10. 
The     Apostles     preaching:     and 

working  miracles.  do. 

Paul  and  Barnabas  turning  from 
the  Jews  to  the  Gentiles,  do 

Apocalyptic  Dispensation. 

John  seeing  the  Son  of  Man,  and 
called  to  write.    9  feet  by  6. 

The  Throne  surrounded  by  tbt 
Four  Beasts,  and  Saints  la;  - 
ing  down  their  crowns,    do. 

Death  <m  the  Pale  Horse  and  the 
Opening  of  the  Seals.       do. 

The  White  Horse  and  his  le- 
gions, and  the  Man  destroy  - 
ing  the  Old  Beabt.  do. 

General  Resurrection,  the  end  of 
Death.  do. 

Christ's  Second  Coming.       do. 

The  New  Jerusalem.  do 


IN  TILE  COLLECTION  OF  MR.  BECKFORD. 

Simeon    with    the  Child    in  his 


Michael  and  his  angels  casting 
out  the  Red  Dragon  and  his 
angels. 

The  Woman  clothed  with  the 
Sun. 

John  called  to  write  the  Apo- 
pse. 

The  Beast  rising  out  of  the  sea. 


Landscape,  with  a  Hunt  in  the 

back  ground. 
Abraham    and  Isaac    going   to 

sacrifice. 
Thomas  a  Becket. 
Angel  in  the  Sun. 


The  mighty  Angel,  one  foot  on     Order  of  the   Carter,  differing 
sea  the  other  on  land.  in  composition   from 

St.  Anthony  of  Padua.  Win  I 

The  Madre  Dolorosa 


184 


COLUMBIA!). 


NOTES. 


IX  THE  COLLECTION  OF  EARL  GROSVENOR. 


The  Shunamite's  son   raised  lo 

life  by  Elisha. 
Jacob  blessing  the  sons  of  Joseph. 
y  Death  of  Wolfe. 

*  Battle  of  Lahogue. 

*  Battle  of  the  Boyne. 


*  Restoration  of  Charles  II. 

*  Cromwell  dissolving   the   par- 

liament. 
The  Golden  Age. 
General  Wolfe  when  a  bov. 


IN  THE  COLLECTION  OF  MR.  HOPE. 


*  Telemachus  and  Calypso. 

*  Angelica  and  Madora. 
The  Damsel  and  Orlando. 

Cicero  at   the  tomb   of  Archi 

medes. 
St.  Paul's  Conversion. 


St.  Paul  persecuting  the  Chris- 
tians. 

His  restoration  to  sight  by  Ana- 
nias. 

Mr.  Hope's  family;  nine  figures, 
size  of  life. 


IN  THE  HISTORICAL  GALLERY,  PALLMALL. 

Citizens  of  London  offering  the     The  Queen  soliciting  king  Hen- 
crown  to  William  the  Con-  ry  to  pardon  her  son  John, 
queror. 

IN  GREENWICH  HOSPITAL. 


Paul  shaking  the  viper  from  his 

Charity, 

Philip, 

finger. 

Innocence, 

Peter, 

Paul  preaching  at  Athens. 

Mathew, 

Malachi, 

Elymas  the  Sorcerer  struck  blind 

Mark, 

Micah, 

Cornelius  and  the  Angel. 

Luke, 

Zachariah, 

Peter  delivered  from  prison. 

Matthias, 

Daniel, 

Conversion  of  St.  Paul. 

Thomas, 

Jude, 

Paul  before  Felix. 

Simon, 

John, 

Return  of  the  Prodigal  Son. 

James  major, 

Andrew, 

Large  figures  of 

James  miner, 

Bartholomew 

Faith,                       Hope, 

IN  DIFFERENT  CHURCHES. 


Michael  chaining  the  Dragon. 
Angels  announcing  the  birth  of 

Christ. 
St.  Stephen  stoned  to  death. 
Raising  of  Lazarus. 
Paul  shaking  off  the  Viper 
The  last  Supper 


Resurrection  of  Christ. 

Peter  denying  Christ. 

Moses  showing  the  Brazen  Ser- 
pent. 

John  seeing  the  Lamb  of  God. 

A  mother  leading  her  children 
to  the  Temple  of  Virtue 


> 


NOTES. 


COLUMBIA!). 


18J 


IN  VARIOUS  COLLECTIONS, 
taking   the    duany     Venus  presenting  a< 


Lord   Clive 

from  the  Mogul. 

The  same. 

Christ  receiving  the  Sick.  Penn- 
sylvania hospital. 

*  Leonidaa  exiling  Cleombrutus 

and  family. 

The  two  Marys  at  the  Sepul- 
chre. 

Alexander  and  his  physician. 

Cesar  reaching  the  life  of  Alex- 
ander. 

Death  of  Adonis. 

Continence  of  Scipio. 

*  Savage  Warrior  taking  leave  of 

his  family. 
Venus  and  Cupid. 
Alfred  dividing  his  loaf  with  the 

Beggar. 
Helen  presented  to  Paris. 
Cupid  stung  by  a  bee. 
Simeon  and  the  Child. 

*  William  Penn  treating  with  the 

Savages. 

Destruction  of  the  Spanish  Ar- 
mada. 

Philippe  soliciting  of  Edward 
the  pardon  of  the  citizens  of 
Calais. 

Europa  On  the  Bull. 

Death  of  Tyacinthus. 

Death  of  Cesar. 


Juno. 
Rinaldo  and  Armida. 
Pharaoh's    Daughter   with  the 

child  Moses. 
The  stolen  Kiss. 
Angelica  and  Madora. 
Woman  of  Samaria  at  the  well 

with  Christ. 
Agrippina  leaning  on  the  urn  oi 

Germanicus. 
Death  of  Wolfe. 

me;  smaller  size. 
and  Juliet. 
Ki  ig  Lear  and  his  daughters 
Belisariua  and  the  Boy. 

taring  and  family  . 
*  Mr.  West  and  fa . 
r\h^v  and  Child. 
ter  and  Semele. 
\  rria. 
Venus  and  Cupid  smiling  at  Eu- 
ropa when  Jupit  jt  had  left  her. 
Reb<  td  Jacob. 

Rebecca  receiving  the  hracelets 
at  th< 

.   at  Brundusi- 
u  :.  ishes  of  Ger- 

The  same. 
The  same. 

Eudvmion  and  Diana. 


IN"  THE  COLLECTION  OF  ROBERT  FULTON. 

Ophelia    distracted,    before    the     *  King  Lear  in  the  storm, 
king  and  queen. 

IX  MB.  WEST'S  OWN  COLLECTION. 
Hector  taking  leave  of  his  Wife     The  raising  of  Lazarus. 

hild.  Macbeth  and  tfa 

Eiisha  raising  the  Shunamiie's    JTie  return  of  To 

Son.  Return  of  the  Prodigal  Son. 

Q2 


186 


COLUMBIAD. 


NOTES 


Ariadne  on  the  sea  shore. 
Death  of  Adonis. 
King  of  France  brought  to  the 
Black  Prince. 

*  Death  oi'  Wolfe. 
Venus  and  Adonis. 
Battle  of  Lahogue. 

Edward  III.  crossing  the  Som- 

me. 
Philippa  at  the  Battle  of  Nevil- 

cross. 
Angels  announcing  the  birth  of 

Christ. 
Kings     bringing     presents      to 

Christ. 
View  on  the  river  Thames. 
View  on  the  Susquehanna. 
Picture  or'  Tangere  Mill  at  Eton. 
is  restored  to  her  Father. 
Antiochus  and  Stratonice. 
King  I. ear  and  his  Daughters. 
Chryseus  on  the  sea  shore. 
Nathan  and  David.  Thou  art  the 

Elijah  raising  the  widow's  Son. 

Choice  of  Hercules. 

Venus  and  Europa. 

Daniel  interpreting  the  Writing 

on  the  W  all. 
Marius  on  the  ruins  of  Carthage. 

*  Cymon  and  Iphigenia. 
Cicero   at  the  t^omb   of  Archi- 
medes. 

*  Alexander,  king   of  Scotland, 

rescued  from  the  Stag. 
Battle  of  Cressy. 

*  Mr.  West  and  his  family. 

*  Anthony  shows  Cesar's  Robe 

and  Will. 
Egysthus   viewing  the  bedy   of 

Clytemnestra. 
Recovery  of  king  George  in  1780. 


A  large  landscape  in  Windsor 
Forest. 

Ophelia  before  the  King  and 
Queen. 

Leonidas  taking  leave  of  his 
fa  mil} . 

phaeton  receiving  from  Apollo 
the  i! 

The  Er.gie  giving  the  cup  of 
water  to  Psyche. 

Moonlight  and  the  Beckoning 
Ghost.      Pcpe. 

Angel  sitting  on  the  stone  at  the 
Sepulchre. 

The  same  subject  differently 
composed. 

*  Angelica  and  Madora. 

The  Damsel  and  Orlando. 

The  Good  Samaritan. 

Old  Beast  and  False  Prophet  de- 
stroyed. 

Christ  healing  the  sick  in  the 
temple. 

Death  on  the  Pale  Horse. 

Jason  and  the  Dragon. 

Venus  and  Adonis  seeing  the 
Cupids  bathe. 

Moses  and  Aaron  before  Pha- 
raoh. 

Passage  boat  on  the  Canal. 

Paul  and  Barnabas  rejecting  the 
Jews  and  turning  to  the  Gen- 
tiles. 

Diomed,  his  horses  struck  with 
lightning. 

Milk-woman  in  St.  James's 
Park. 

Expulsion  of  Adam  and  Eve  from 

Paradise. 
Order  of  the  Garter. 
Orion  on  the  dolphin's  back. 

The  Delude. 


NOTES. 


fcOLUMBIAD. 


187 


Btnabeth's  Proa  i 

(homing  a  child,  emblem 

,r  en. 

ieep. 

>ff  the  Viper. 
Sun  s -i  n  ken  ham  on 

Thames. 
Driving  cows  to  water. 

Catth  d   Mr.   West 

drawing,  in  Windsor  Park. 
Pharaoh  and  his  host  in  the  Red 

Sea. 
Telemachus  and  Calypso. 
Moses    consecrating  Aaron  and 

his  sons. 
A  Mother  inviting  her  little  boy 

to  come  to  her  thro  a  brook. 
Brewer's  porter  and  hod  carrier. 
Venus  attended  by  the  Graces. 
Naming  of  Samuel. 
Birth  of  Jacob  and  Esau. 
Ascension  of  Christ. 
Samuel  presented  to  Eli. 
Moses     shown     the    Promised 

Land. 
Christ  among  the  Doctors. 
Reaping  scene. 
"  Adonis  and  his  dog. 
Mothers  with  their  children  in 

water. 
Joshua  crossing  the  Jordan  with 

the  Ark. 
Christ's  Nativity. 
*  Pyrrhus  when  a  child  before 

king  Glaucus. 
The  Man  laying  his  bread  on  the 

bridle  of  the  dead  Ass.  Sterne. 
The  Captive.  Ditto. 

Cupid  Jetting  loose  two  Doves. 


Cupid  asleep. 

Children  eating  cherries. 

"  .•!  ia  and  the 

Child. 
Jacob  :i  id   Laban  with  his  two 

da.:;' 
The  Women   looking   into  the 

Sepulchre    and    seeing    two 

Angels  where  the  Lord  lay. 
The  \ngel  unchaining  Peter  in 

pris 
D<  ath  of  .sir  Philip  Sidney. 
Death  -ji  Epr.minondas. 
Death  of  chevalier  Bayard. 
Death  of  Cephalus. 

*  Kosciusko  on  a  couch. 
Abraham  and  Isaac.  Here  is  the 

wood  and  fire,   but  where  is 

the  lamb  to  sacrifice. 
Eponina  with  her  children  giving 

bread  to  her  husband  when  in 

concealment. 
King  Henry  pardoning  his  bro- 
ther John   at  the  prayer  of 

his  mother. 
Death  of  lord  Chatham. 
Presentation   of  the   Crown   tt> 

William  the  Conqueror. 
Europa  crowning  the  bull  with 

flowers. 
West's     garden,     gallery     and 

painting  room. 
Cave  of  Despair.       Spencer. 
Arethusa  bathing. 
Cupid   shows    Venus  his  finger 

stung  by  a  bee. 
Ubald  brings  his  three  daughters 

to  Alfred  for  him  to  choore 

one  for  his  wife. 

*  Pvlades  and  Orestes 


188  COLIMK1AD.  NON 

Besides  the  two  hundred  and  ninety  nine  large 
finished  pictures  here  mentioned,  Mr.  West  has  done 
about  one  hundred  portraits,  and  upwards  of  two  hun- 
dred drawings  with  the  pen;  which  last,  for  sublimity  of 
conception  are  among  fhe  finest  of  his  works.  So  that 
the  whole  of  his  pieces  amount  to  above  six  hundred. 
Some  of  them  are  larger  in  size  than  any  in  the  na- 
tional gallery  of  France;  and  he  has  not  been  assisted 
by  any  other  painter, 

Mr.  West  is  now  about  sixty  eight  years  of  age. 
He  discovers  no  abatement  in  the  activity  of  his 
genius,  nor  in  the  laborious  exercise  of  his  talents. 
He  has  painted  several  fine  pictures  since  the  above 
catalogue  was  made,  three  of  which  I  have  particu- 
larly noticed  in  his  painting  room:  Tobet  and  Tobias 
with  the  fish;  Abraham  sending  away  Hagar  with  her 
child;  x\chilies  receiving  from  Thetis  the  new  armour; 
and  we  hear  that  he  has  lately  painted  the  Death  of 
Nelson.  He  may  yet  produce  many  more  original 
works;  tho  it  is  presumed  ne  has  already  exceeded  all 
other  historical  painters,  except  Rubens,  in  the  num- 
ber and  variety  of  his  productions.  With  regard  to  the 
merit  of  his  pictures  I  cannot  pretend  to  form  a  judg- 
ment that  would  be  of  any  uss  in  directing  that  of 
others.  He  is  doubtless  the  most  classical  painter, 
except  Raphael,  whose  works  are  known  to  us. 

The  critics  find  fault  with  the  coloring  of  Mr.  West. 
But  in  his  works,  as  in  those  of  Raphael,  we  do  not  look 
for  coloring.  It  is  dignity  of  character,  fine  expression, 
delicate  design,  correct  drawing  and  beautiful  disposi- 
tion of  drapery  which  fix  the  suffrage  of  the  real  judge. 


NOTES.  COLUMBIA!)  189 

All  which  qualities  can  only  spring  from  an  elevated 
mind. 

No.  46. 
Nile  fiours  from  heaven  a  tutelary  flood. 
And  gardens  grow  the  vegetable  god. 

Book  IX.  Line  287 . 

O  sanctas  gentes,  quibus  haec  nascuntur  in  hortis 
Numina.  Juv.  Sat.  15. 

No.  47. 
Tis  to  correct  their  fatal  faults  of  old, 
When,  caught  by  tinsel,  they  forgot  the  gold. 

Book  IX.  Line  499. 

The  state  of  the  arts  and  sciences  among  the  an- 
cients, viewed  with  reference  to  the  event  of  universal 
civilization,  was  faulty  in  two  respects.  First,  In  their 
comparative  estimation:  Second,  In  their  flourishing 
only  in  one  nation  at  a  time.  These  circumstances 
might  be  favorable  to  the  exertions  of  individual  genius; 
and  they  may  be  assigned  both  as  causes  of  the  uni- 
versal destruction  of  the  arts  and  sciences  by  the  Gothic 
conquest,  and  as  reasons  why  we  should  not  greatly 
lament  that  destruction. 

From  the  political  state  of  mankind  in  the  days  of 
their  ancient  splendor  it  was  natural  that  those  arts 
which  depend  on  the  imagination,  such  as  Architec- 
ture, Statuary,  Painting,  Eloquence  and  Poetry,  should 
claim  the  highest  rank  in  the  estimation  of  a  people. 
In  several,  perhaps  all  of  these,  the  ancients  remain 
unrivalled.  But  these  are  not  the  arts  which  tend  the 


190  COLUMBIA©.  X0TI> 

most  to  the  general  improvement  of  society.  A  man 
in  those  days  would  have  rendered  more  service  to 
the  world  by  ascertaining  the  true  figure  and  move- 
ments of  the  earth,  than  by  originating  a  heaven  and 
filling  it  with  all  the  gods  of  Homer;  and  had  the  ex- 
penses of  the  Egyptian  pyramids  been  employed  in 
furnishing  ships  of  discovery  and  sending  them  out 
of  the  Mediterranean,  the  nations  called  civilized 
would  not  have  been  afterwards  overrun  by  Barbarians. 
But  the  sciences  of  Geography,  Navigation  and 
Commerce,  with  their  consequent  improvements  in 
Natural  Philosophy  and  humanity,  could  not,  from 
the  nature  of  things  at  that  time,  become  objects  of 
great  encouragement  or  enterprise.  Talent  was  there- 
fore confined  to  the  cultivation  of  arts  more  striking 
to  the  senses.  As  these  arts  were  adapted  to  gratify  the 
vanity  of  princes,  to  help  carry  on  the  sacred  frauds 
of  priests,  to  fire  the  ambition  of  heroes,  or  to  gain 
causes  in  popular  assemblies,  they  were  brought  to  a 
degree  of  perfection  which  prevented  their  being 
relished  or  understood  by  barbarous  neighbors. 

The  improvements  of  the  world  therefore,  whether 
in  literature,  sciences  or  arts,  descended  with  the  line 
of  conquest  from  one  nation  to  another,  till  the  whole 
were  concentred  in  the  Roman  empire.  Their  ten- 
dency there  was  to  inspire  a  contempt  for  nations 
less  civilized,  and  to  teach  the  Romans  to  consider 
all  mankind  as  the  proper  objects  of  their  military 
despotism.  These  circumstances  prepared,  thro  a 
*"  course  of  ages  and  finally  opened  a  scene  of  wretched- 
ness at  which  the  Uuman  mind  has  been  taught  to 


NOT!  (  OLt  MB]  ID  191 

shudder.  But  some  such  convulsion  seemed  necessary 
to  reduce  the  nations  to  a  position  capable  of  com- 
mencing regular  improvements.  And,  however  novel 
the  sentiment  may  appear,  I  will  venture  to  say  that, 
as  to  the  prospect  of  universal  civilization.,  mankind 
were  in  a  better  situation  in  the  time  of  Charlemagne 
than  they  were  in  the  days  of  Augustus. 

The  final  destruction  of  the  Roman  empire  left 
the  nations  of  Europe  in  circumstances  similar  to 
each  other;  and  their  consequent  rivuiship  prevented 
any  disproportionate  refinement  from  appealing  in 
any  particular  region.  The  principles  of  government] 
firmly  rooted  in  the  Feudal  System,  unsocial  and 
unphilosophical  as  they  were,  laid  the  foundation  of 
that  balance  of  power  which  discourages  the  Ces  rs 
and  Alexanders  of  modern  ages  from  attempting  he 
conquest  of  the  world. 

It  seems  necessary  that  the  arrangement  of  events 
in   civilizing  the    world    should  be  in  the  following 
order:  Jirst,  all  parts  of  it  must  be  considerably  peo- 
pled; second,  the  different  nations  must  be  known  to 
each  other;  thirds  their  wants  must  be  increased,  in 
order  to  inspire  a  passion  for  commerce.  The  fi 
these  objects  was  not  probably  accomplished  till  a  late 
period.  The  second  for  three  centuries  past  has  been 
greatly  accelerated.  The  third  is  a  necessary  conse- 
quence of  the  two  former.  The  spirit  of  comme 
happily  calculated  to  open  an   amicable    interc 
between  all  countries,  to  soften  the  horrors  of  v.  a  i ,  to 
enlarge  the  field  of  science  and  to  assimilate  the  man- 
ners, feelings  and  languages  of  all  nations.  This  lead- 


192  COLUMBIA!).  NOTES. 

ing  principle,  in  its  remoter  consequences,  will  produce 
advantages  in  favor  of  free  government,  give  patriot- 
ism the  character  of  philanthropy,  induce  all  men  to 
regard  each  other  as  brethren  and  friends  and  teach 
them  the  benefits  of  peace  and  harmony  among  the 
nations. 

I  conceive  it  no  objection  to  this  theory  that  th<* 
progress  has  hitherto  been  slow;  when  we  consider 
the  magnitude  of  the  object,  the  obstructions  that 
were  to  be  removed,  and  the  length  of  time  taken 
to  accomplish  it.  The  future  progress  will  probably 
be  more  rapid  than  the  past.  Since  the  invention  of 
priming*  the  application  of  the  properties  of  the  mag- 
net and  the  knowledge  of  the  structure  of  the  solar 
system,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a  cause  that  can 
produce  a  new  state  of  barbarism;  unless  it  be  some 
great  convulsion  in  the  physical  world,  so  extensive 
as  to  change  the  face  of  the  earth  or  a  considerable 
part  of  it.  This  indeed  may  have  been  the  case  already 
more  than  once,  since  the  earth  was  first  peopled 
with  men  and  antecedent  to  our  histories.  But  such 
events  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  present  argument. 

No.  48. 

Herschel  ascend*  himself  with  venturous  wain, 
And  joins  and  flanks  thy  planetary  train, 

Book  IX.  Line  601. 

The  planet  discovered  by  Herschel  was  called  by 
him  Georgium  Sidus;  but  in  all  countries  except  Eng- 
land it  is  named  Herschel  and  probably  will  be  so  named 
there  after  his  death  and  that  of  the  patron  to  whom 


HOI  I  COLUMBIAN  19o 

his  gratitude  led  him  to  make  this  extraordinary  dedi- 
cation. 

I  would  observe  that,  besides  the  impropriety  of 
giving  it  another  name  than  that  of  the  discoverer,  it 
is  inconvenient  to  use  a  double  name  or  a  name  com- 
posed of  two  words.  Let  it  be  either  George  or  Her- 
schel. 

The  passage  referred  to  in  this  note  was  written 
before  the  discovery  of  the  three  other  planets  which 
are  now  added  to  our  catalogue.  Could  my  voice  have 
weight  in  deciding  on  the  names  to  be  given  to  these 
new  children  of  the  sun,  I  would  call  them  by  the 
names  of  their  respective  discoverers,  Piazzi,  Olbers 
and  Harding,  instead  of  the  senseless  and  absurd 
appellations  of  Ceres,  Pallas  and  Juno.  The  former 
method  would  at  least  assist  us  in  preserving  the  his- 
tory of  science;  the  latter  will  only  tend  farther  to 
confuse  a  very  ancient  mythology  which  is  already 
extremely  confused,  and  increase  the  difficulty  of 
following  the  faint  traces  of  real  knowledge  that  seems 
couched  under  the  mass  of  that  mythology;  traces 
which  may  one  day  lead  to  many  useful  truths  in 
philosophy  and  morals. 

No.  49. 
To  build  on  ruined  realms  the  shrine  of  fame 
And  load  his  numbers  with  a  tyrant's  name. 

Book  X.  Line  261. 

A  most  useful  book  might  be  written  on  this  sub- 
ject. It  should  be  a  Review  of  Poets  and  Historians, 
as  to  the  moral  and  political  tendency  of  their  works. 
Vol.  II.  R 


194  :  MBIAl).  NOTES 

It  should  likewise  treat  of  the  importance  of  the  task 
assigned  to  these  two  classes  of  writers.  It  might 
attempt  to  point  out  the  true  object  they  ought  to 
have  in  view;  perhaps  do  this  with  such  clearness  and 
energy  as  to  gain  the  attention  of  writers  as  well  as 
readers,  and  thus  serve  in  some  measure  as  a  guide 
to  future  historians  and  poets.  At  least  it  would  prove 
a  guide  to  readcrs;and  by  teaching  them  how  to  judge, 
and  what  to  praise  or  blame  in  the  accounts  of  human 
actions,  whether  real  or  fictitious,  the  public  taste 
would  be  reformed  by  degrees.  In  this  case  the  recor- 
ders of  heroic  actions,  as  well  as  the  authors  of  them, 
would  find  it  necessary  to  follow  this  reform,  or  theV 
must  necessarily  fail  of  obtaining  the  celebrity  to 
which  they  all  aspire. 

I  think  every  person  who  will  give  himself  the 
trouble  to  form  an  opinion  on  the  manner  in  which 
actions,  called  heroic,  have  been  recorded,  must  find 
it  faulty;  and  must  lament,  as  one  of  the  misfortunes 
of  society,  that  writers  of  these  two  classes  almost 
universally,  from  Homer  down  to  Gibbon,  have  led 
astray  the  moral  sense  of  man.  In  this  view-  we  may  sav- 
in general  of  poets  and  historians,  as  we  do  of  their 
heroes,  that  they  have  injured  the  cause  of  humanity 
almost  in  proportion  to  the  fame  they  have  acquired. 

I  would  not  be  understood  by  this  observation  to 
mean  that  such  wrriters  have  done  no  good.  Even  the 
works  of  Homer,  which  have  caused  more  mischief 
to  mankind  than  those  of  any  other,  have  likewise 
been  a  fruitful  source  of  a  certain  species  of  benefits. 
They  elevate  the  mind  of  every  reader;  they  have 
called  forth  great  exertions  of  genius  in  poets,  artists, 


philosophers  and   heroes,    thro  a  long  succession  ot 
s.  But  it  remains  to  be  considered  what  a  fruitful 
source  they  have  likewi  false  notio 

honor  unci  crroneousvwstems  of  policy  which  have 
I  '  nccl  the  actions  of  men  from  his  day  to  ours. 
If,  instead  of  the  Iliad,  he  had  given  us  a  wot 
ial  splendor  founded  on  an  opposite  principle;  win 
object  should  have  been  to  celebrate  the  useful  a 
of  agriculture  and  navigation;   to  build  the   immortal 
fame  of  his  heroes  and   occupy  his  whole  hierarchy 
of  gods,  on  actions  that  contribute  to  the  real  advance- 
ment of  society,  instead  of  striking  away  every  foun- 
dation on  which  society  ought  to  be  established  or  can 
be  greatly  advanced;  mankind,  em  iched  with  sue! 
work  at  that  early  period,  would   have   given  a   useful 
turn  to  their  ambition  thro  all  succeeding  ages. 

It  is  not  easy  to  conceive  how  different  the  state 
of  nations  would  have  been  at  this  day  from  what  we 
now  find  it,  had  such  a  bent  been  given  to  the  pursuits 
.  of  genius  and  such  glory  cast  upon  actions  truly  wor- 
of  imitation.  I  have  treated  this  subject  more  at 
large  in  the  third  chapter  of  Jdvice  to  the  Prin  ileged 
Ore!  crs. 

But  it  will  be  asked  how  this  kind  of  censure 
ch  to  the  writers  of  history,  whose  business  is  to 
invent  nothing,  to  confine  themselves  to  the  simple 
ration  of  facts  and  relate  the  actions  of  men,  not  as 
they  should  be,  but  as  they  are.  This  is  indeed  a  part  ol 
the  duty  of  the  historian;  but  it  is  not  his  whole  duty. 
His  narrative  should  be  clear  and  simple;  but  he 
should  likewise  develop  the  political  and  moral 
denev  of  the  transactions  he  details. 


196  COLUMBIA!).  NOTES 

In  reviewing  actions  or  doctrines  which  favor 
despotism,  injustice,  false  morals  or  political  errors, 
he  should  not  suffer  them  to  pass  without  an  open  and 
well  supported  censure.  He  should  show  how  the 
authors  of  such  actions  might  have  conducted  them- 
selves and  succeeded  in  gaining  the  celebrity  which 
they  sought,  by  doing  good  instead  of  harm  to  the 
age  and  country  where  they  acquired  their  fame. 

The  history  of  human  actions,  in  a  political  view, 
has  generally  been  the  history  of  human  errors.  The 
writers  who  have  given  it  to  us  do  not  appear  to  have 
been  sensible  of  this.  How  then  are  young  readers  to 
be  sensible  of  it?  Their  minds  are  still  to  be  formed; 
and  those  who  are  destined  for  public  life  must  in  a 
great  measure  take  their  bias  from  the  study  of  history. 
But  history  in  general,  to  answer  [he  purpose  of  sound 
instruction  to  the  future  guides  of  nations,  must  be 
rewritten.  For  example:  among  the  hundred  histo- 
rians who  have  treated  of  what  is  called  the  Roman 
Republic  I  know  not  one  who  has  told  us  this  im-  . 
portant  fact,  that  Rome  never  had  a  Republic.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  Athens,  and  of  several  other 
turbulent  associations  of  men  in  former  ages.  And  it 
is  for  want  of  this  attention  or  this  knowledge  in  the 
writers  of  their  histories,  that  the  republican  principle 
of  government  is  so  generally  associated,  even  at  this 
day,  with  the  idea  of  insurrection,  anarchy  and  the  de- 
sire of  conquest.  Whereas  it  is  in  fact  the  want  of 
the  republican  principle,  not  the  practice  of  it,  which 
has  occasioned  all  the  insurrections,  anarchy  and  de- 
sire of  conquest,  that  have  disturbed  the  order  of 
society  both  in  ancient  and  modern  times. 


Nor:  <  OliUMBIAl) 

Again:  in  relating  the  destruction  of  Carthage,  a 
M»ure  which  the  zealous  patriots,  both  before  and 
after,  considered  so  essential  to  the  glory  of  the- 
Roman  state,  and  which  has  immortalized  so  many 
heroes  as  the  authors  and  projectors  of  that  destruc- 
tion, I  believe  no  historian  has  told  us  that  the  disc- 
decay  and  downfal  of  Rome  itself  were  occasioned  by 
that  measure  and  must  be  dated  from  that  epoch;  and 
that  the  actions  of  Regulus  and  Scipio,  the  themes  of 
universal  applause,  were  really  more  injurious  to  their 
country  than  those  of  Marius  and  Sylla,  the  objects 
(and  justly  so)  of  universal  detestation. 

If  these  principles  had  been  understood  by  Poly- 
bius  and  his  successors  in  the  brilliant  heritage  of 
history  and  had  been  properly  impressed  on  the  minds 
of  their  readers,  we  should  not  have  heard  old  Cato's 
vociferation  delenda  est  Carthago  applied  to  the  Ameri- 
can states  by  an  orator  of  the  British  parliament,  as 
we  did  during  the  war;  because  every  member  of  that 
parliament  must  have  understood  that  the  prosperity 
of  these  states  would  be  highly  advantageous  to  Britain, 
from  the  extensive  commercial  intercourse  that  the  re- 
lative situation  of  the  two  countries  required.  Neither 
should  we  see  at  this  day  the  French  and  English 
nations  seeking  to  impoverish  and  extirpate  each 
other;  each  of  them  entertaining  the  erroneous  and 
absurd  opinion  that  its  own  prosperity  is  to  be  increas- 
ed by  the  adversity  of  its  neighbor.  We  should  havi 
learned  long  ago  from  the  plain  dictates  cf  reason, 
instead  of  having  it  beat  into  us  some  ages  hence  by 
costly  experience,  that  the  tiue  dignity  of  a  state  is  in 
the  happiness  of  its  members;  and  that  their  happi; 

2  R 


198  COLUMBIAD.  rTB6 

is  best  promoted  by  the  purs  :lt  of  industry  at  home 
and  the  free  exchange  of  their  productions  abroad. 

We  should  have  perceived  the  d  constant 

interest  that  every  nation  has  in  ,t  erity  of  its 

neighbors,  instead  of. their  destruction  ould 

have  perceived  that  the  wealth  o:^  the 
be  beneficial  to  her, 
pay  for  more  ol 

seen  the  same  thing  with  regard  to  th 
such  would  have  been  the  sentiments  of  other  nations 
reciprocity  and  univei 

I  know  I  must  be  called  an  extr  theorist  if 

I  insinuate  that  all  these  good  things  v  ve  re- 

sulted from  having  history  well  written  and  poetry  well 
conceived.  No  man  will  doubt  however  that  such 
would  have  been  the  tendency;  nor  can  we  deny  that 
the  contrary  has  resulted,  at  least  in  some  degree, 
from  the  manner  in  which  such  writings  have  been 
composed.  And  why  should  we  write  at  all,  if  not  to 
benefit  mankind?  The  public  mind,  as  well  as  the 
individual  mind,  receives  its  propensities;  it  is  equally 
the  creature  of  habit.  Nations  are  educated,  like  a 
single  child.  They  only  require  a  longer  time  and  a 
greater  number  of  teachers. 

No.  50. 
For  that  fine  apologue,  in  mystic  strain. 
Gave  like  the  rest  a  golden  age  to  man, 

Book  X.  Lino  593. 

Absurdities  in  speculative  opinion  are  commonly 
considered  as  innocent  things;  and  we  are  told  every 
day  that  they  are  not  worth  refuting.  So  far  as  opin- 


NOTES.  (  OLUMBIAD  I$9 

ions  are  sure  to  rest  in  speculation  and  cannot 

ions  oi  •:  indiffen 

r  those  tJ  general  and  classical  among 

the  B 

Tin  i«o  imperceptible,  is  exten- 

get  wrought  into  our  intellectual  existence 

Lolurmodesof  acting  as  well  as  thinki  i      Vbt 

interest  of  such  ore  requires  that  they  should 

be  scrutinized,  and  tiiat  such  as  are  erroneous  should 
be  exposed,  in  order  to  be  rejected;  when  their  place 
may  be  supplied  by  truth  and  reason,  which  nourish 
the  mind  and  accelerate  the  progress  of  improvement. 

Among  the  absurd  notions  which  early  turned  the 
heads  of  the  teachers  of  mankind  and  which  are  so 
ridiculous  as  generally  to  escape  our  censure,  is  that 
of  a  Golden  Age;  or  the  idea  that  men  wrere  more  per- 
fect, more  moral  and  more  happy  in  some  early  stage 
of  their  intercourse,  before  they  cultivated  the  earth 
and  formed  great  societies. 

The  author  of  Don  Quixote  has  played  his  artil- 
lery upon  this  doctrine  to  very  good  effect;  he  has 
summoned  against  it  all  the  force  of  our  contempt  by 
making  it  the  text  of  one  of  the  gravest  discourses  of 
his  hero.  But  my  sensibility  is  such  on  moral  and 
political  errors,  as  rarely  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
weapon  of  ridicule;  tho  I  know  it  to  be  one  of  the 
most  mortal  of  intellectual  weapons. 

The  notion  that  the    social  state  of  men  cannot 
meliorate,  that  they  have  formerly  been  better  than  . 
they  now  are,  and  that  they  are  continually  growing 


200  COLUMBIA**. 

worse,  is  pregnant  with  infinite  mischief.  I  know  no 
doctrine  in  the  whole  labyrinth  of  imposture  that  has 
a  more  immoral  tendency.  It  discourages  the  efforts 
of  all  political  virtue;  it  is  a  constant  and  practical  a|Tb- 
logy  for  oppression,  tyranny,  despotism,  in  every  shape, 
in  every  corner  of  society,  as  well  as  from  the  throne, 
the  pulpit,  the  tribunal  and  the  camp.  It  inculcates  the 
belief  that  ignorance  is  better  than  knowledge;  that 
war  and  violence  are  more  natural  than  industry  and 
peace;  that  deserts  and  tombs  are  more  glorious  than 
joyful  cities  and  cultivated  fields. 

One  of  the  most  operative  means  of  bringing  for- 
ward our  improvements  and  of  making  mankind  wiser 
and  better  than  they  are,  is  to  convince  them  that  they 
are  capable  of  becoming  so.  Without  this  conviction 
they  may  indeed  improve  slowly,  unsteadily  and  al- 
most imperceptibly,  as  they  have  done  within  the 
period  in  which  our  histories  are  able  to  trace  them. 
But  this  conviction,  impressed  on  the  minds  of  the 
chiefs  and  teachers  of  nations,  and  inculcated  in  their 
schools,  would  greatly  expedite  our  advancement  in 
public  happiness  and  virtue.  Perhaps  it  would  in  a 
great  measure  insure  the  world  against  any  future 
shocks  and  retrograde  steps,  such  as  heretofore  it  has 
often  experienced. 


POSTSCRIPT 


1  AM  well  aware  that  some  readers  will  be  dissatis- 
fied in  certain  instances  with  my  orthography.  Their 
judgments  are  respectable;  and  as  it  is  not  a  wanton 
deviation  from  ancient  usage  on  my  part,  the  subject 
may  justify  a  moment's  retrospect  from  this  place. 
Since  we  have  arrived  at  the  end  of  a  work  that  has 
given  me  more  pleasure  in  the  composition  than  it 
can  give  me  in  its  reception  by  the  public,  they  must 
pardon  me  if  I  thus  linger  awhile  in  taking  leave.  It 
has  been  a  favorite  object  of  amusement  as  well  as 
labor,  which  I  cannot  hope  to  replace. 

Our  language  is  constantly  and  rapidly  improving. 
The  unexampled  progress  of  the  sciences  and  arts  for 
the  last  thirty  years  has  enriched  it  with  a  great  num- 
ber of  new  words,  which  are  now  become  as  neces- 
sary to'  the  writer  as  his  ancient  mother  tongue.  The 
same  progress  which  leads  to  further  extensions  of 
ideas  will  still  extend  the  vocabulary  $  and  our  neology 
must  and  will  keep  pace  with  the  advancement  of  our 
knowledge.  Hence  will  follow  a  closer  definition  and 
more  accurate  use  of  words,  with  a  stricter  attention 
iieif  orthography. 


202  POSTSCRIPT. 

I 

Such  innovations  ought  undoubtedly  to  be  admitted 
with  caution;  and  they  will  of  course  be  severely 
scrutinized  by  men  of  letters.  A  language  is  public 
property,  in  the  most  extensive  sense  of  the  word; 
and  readers  as  well  as  writers  are  its  guardians.  But 
they  ought  to  have  no  objection  to  improving  the  es- 
tate as  it  passes  thro  their  hands,  by  making  a  liberal 
tho  rigid  estimate  of  what  may  be  offered  as  meli- 
orations. Some  respectable  philologists  have  proposed 
a  total  and  immediate  reform  of  our  orthography 
and  even  of  our  alphabet;  but  the  great  body  of  pro- 
prietors in  this  heritage  are  of  opinion  that  the  attempt 
would  be  less  advantageous  than  the  slow  and  certain 
improvements  which  are  going  forward,  and  which 
will  necessarily  continue  to  attend  the  active  state  of 
our  literature. 

We  have  long  since  laid  aside  the  Latin  diphthongs 
e  and  a  in  common  English  words,  and  in  some  proper 
names  tho  not  in  all.  Uniformity  in  this  respect  is 
desirable  and  will  prevail.  Names  of  that  description 
which  occur  in  this  work  I  have  therefore  written  with 
the  simple  vowel,  as  Cesar,  Phenicia,  Etna,  Medea. 

Another  class  of  our  words  are  in  a  gradual  state 
of  reform.  They  are  those  Latin  nouns  ending  in  or, 
which  having  past  through  France  on  their  way  from 
Rome,  changed  their  o  into  cu.  The  Norman  English 
writers  restored  the  Latin  o  but  retained  the  French 
a;  and  tho  the  latter  has  been  since  rejected  in  most 
of  these  words,  yet  in  others  it  is  still  retained  by 
many  writers.  It  is  quite  useless  in  pronunciation; 
and  propriety    as   well  as  analogy  requires  that  the 


POSTSCRIPT.  20J 

reform  should  to  carried  thro.  No  writer  at  this  clay 
retains  the  u  in  actor,  author,  emperor  and  the  far 
greater  part,  perhaps  nine  tenths,  of  this  class  of  nouns; 
why  then  should  it  be  continued  in  the  few  that  remain, 
such  as  labor,  honor?  The  most  accurate  authors  reject 
it  in  all  these,  and  I  have  followed  the  example. 

I  have  also  respectable  authorities  in  prose  as  well 
as  poetry  for  expunging  the  three  last  letters  in  though 
and  through;  they  being  totally  disregarded  in  pronunci- 
ation and  awkward  in  appearance.  The  long  sound  of 
o  in  many  words,  as  go,  fro,  puts  it  out  of  doubt  with 
respect  to  tho;  and  its  sound  of  oo,  which  frequently 
occurs,  as  in  prove,  move,  is  an  equal  justification  of 
thro.  All  the  British  poets,  from  Pope  downwards,  and 
several  eminent  prose  writers,  including  Shaftsbury 
and  Staunton,  have  by  their  practice  supported  this 
orthography. 

Some  verbs  in  the  past  tense,  where  the  usual 
ending  in  ed  is  harsh  and  uncouth,  have  long  ago 
changed  it  for  t,  as  Jixt,  cafxt,  meant,  past,  blest. 
Poetry  has  extended  this  innovation  to  many  other 
verbs  which  are  necessarily  uttered  with  the  sound  of 
/,  tho  in  prose  they  may  still  retain  for  a  while  their 
ancient  ed.  I  consider  this  reform  as  a  valuable  im- 
provement in  the  language, because  it  brings  a  nume- 
rous class  of  words  to  be  written  as  they  are  spoken; 
and  the  proportion  of  the  reformed  ones  s  already  so 
considerable  that  analogy,  or  regularity  of  conjugation, 
requires  us  to  complete  the  list.  I  have  not  carried 
this  reform  much  farther  than  other  poets  have  done 


204-  POSTSCRIPT. 

before  me.  Examples  might  perhaps  be  found  for 
neai  \y  all  the  instances  in  which  I  have  indulged  it, 
such  tsfierisktj  asto?iivhi,  tho  I  have  not  been  solicit- 
ous to  seek  them.  The  correction  might  well  be  ex- 
tended to  several  remaining  verbs  of  the  same  class; 
but  it  is  difficult  in  this  particular  case  to  fix  the 
proper  limit. 

With  regard  to  the  apostrophe,  as  employed  to 
ma  rk  the  elision  in  the  past  tense  of  verbs,  I  have 
followed  the  example  of  the  most  accurate  poets;  who 
use  it  where  the  verb  in  the  present  tense  does  not 
end  in  e,  vs/urFd,  because  the  ed  would  add  a  sy 
and  destroy  the  measure.  But  where  the  present 
tense  ends  in  f,  it  is  retained  in  the  past  with  the  d. 
as  robed,  because  it  does  not  add  a  syllable. 

The  letter  k  we  borrowed  from  the  Greek,  and  the 
i  from  the  Latin.  The  power  of  each  of  these  letters 
at  the  end  of  a  word  is  precisely  the  same;  and  the 
power  of  one  is  the  same  as  that  of  both.  Yet  our  early- 
writers  placed  them  both  at  the  end  of  certain  words, 
with  the  c  before  the  k,  as  musick,  fiublick;  why  they 
did  not  put  the  k  first,  as  being  the  most  ancient  cha- 
racter, does  not  appear.  Modern  authors  have  rejected 
the  k  at  the  end  of  this  class  of  words;  and  no  correct 
writer  will  think  of  replacing  such  an  inconvenient  ap- 
pendage. 

The  idea  of  putting  a  stop  to  innovation  in  a  living 
language  is  absurd,  unless  we  put  a  stop  to  thinking. 
When  a  language  becomes  fixt  it  becomes  a  dead 
language.  Men  must  leave  it  for  a  living  one,  in  which 


RlPT.  205 

they  can  express  their  ideas  with  all  their  changes,  t 
tensions  wind  corrections.  The  duty  of  the  critic  in 
this  case  is  only  to  keep  a  steady  watch  over  the  inno- 
vations that  are  offered,  and  require  a  rigid  conformity 
to  the  general  principles  of  the  idiom.  Noah  Webster, 
to  whose  philological  labors  our  language  will  be 
much  indebted  for  its  purity  and  regularity,  has  point 
ed  out  the  advantages  of  a  steady  course  of  improve- 
ment, and  how  it  ought  to  be  conducted.  The  Preface  to 
his  new  Dictionary  is  an  able  performance.  He  might 
advantageously  give  it  more  development,  with  some 
correction,  and  publish  it  is  as  a  Prospectus  to  the 
great  work  he  now  has  in  hand. 

The  uniform  tendency  of  our  language  is  towards 
simplicity  as  well  as  regularity.  With  this  view  the 
final  e,  in  words  where  it  is  quite  silent  and  useless, 
is  dropping  off,  and  will  soon  disappear.  Having  long 
since  resigned  the  place  it  held  in  the  greater  part  of 
these  words,  as  joye,  mine,  and  more  recently  in  some 
others,  it  must  finally  quit  the  remainder  where  it  is 
still  found  a  superfluous  letter,  as  active,  decisive,  deter- 
mine. 

We  may  even  hazard  a  prediction  that  our  whole 
class  of  adjectives  ending  in  ous  will  be  reformed 
and  brought  nearer  to  their  pronunciation  by  rejecting 
the  o.  A  similar  change  may  be  expected  in  words 
ending  in  ss.  These  words  have  already  undergone 
one  reform;  they  were  formerly  written  with  a  final  e, 
as  wildemetse.  They  have  lost  the  e  because  it  was 
useless;  and  as  the  final  s  has  now  become  equally 
Vol.  II.  S 


206  POSTSCRIPT. 

useless,  it  might  be  dismissed  with  as  little  violence 
to  the  language.  But  these  two  projected  innovations 
have  not  yet  been  ventured  upon  in  any  degree;  and  it 
is  not  desirable  to  be  the  first  in  so  daring  an  enter- 
prise, when  it  is  not  immediately  important. 


INDEX 

TO  PASSAGES  IN  THIS  POEM  BY  PROPER  NAMES. 

The  Roman  Numerals  refer  to  the  Book,  the  Arabic  to  the  Line. 


AbERCROMBIE,  v,  250. 

Abraham,  v,  265. 

Acadia,  v,  256,  309. 

Adams,  v,  455.  vi,  503. 

Adrai,  ix,  564.  x,  172. 

Adriatic,  ix,  534. 

Afric,  i,  488.  iv,  91,  615. 
viii,194,321,385.x,53. 

Ai,  viii,  680. 

Ajax,  vii,  5  82. 

Albania,  v,  101. 

Albemarle,  v,  351. 

Albion,  i,  495.  iv,  89,  115, 
171,  227,  245.  v,  157, 
231,  235,  327,  817.  vi, 
615.  vii,  93,  118,  168, 
319,  333,  469,  737.  ix, 
537.x,  163. 

Alcides,  ii,  151. 


Alfred,  ix,  537. 
Alleganies,  i,  3 1 6.  v,  61,161. 
Alps,  i,  194,  367,  602.  iv, 

108.  viii,  271. 
Amazonia,  iii,  319. 
Amherst,  v,  255. 
Ammon,  ix,  392. 
Anarch,  viii,  163. 
Andes,  i,  258,  340,  365, 

418,    424.   iii,  10,   308, 

384.  v,  66.  viii,  271. 
Anspach,  vi,  267.  vii,  742. 
Anadir,  ii,  175. 
Apalachia,  v,  350. 
Arab,  x,  227. 
Arctic,  ii,  175. 
Arkansa,  i,  719. 
Arnold,  vi,  359,  549,  586, 

599,  699.  vii,  283. 


208 


4 


Asia,  i,  351.  x,  43,  176. 

Athens,  ix,  659. 

Athos,  vi,  312. 

Atlantic,  i,  21,  118,  146. 
iv,  363.  v,  38,  376.  vii, 
110.x,  58,61,  183,629. 

Atlas,  i,  149,  342.  viii, 
193. 

Austria,  v,  659,  679. 

Avernus,  ix,  350. 

Azonto,  iii,  490. 

Azores,  x,  168. 

Babel,  ix,  332.  x,  383. 
Babylon,  ix,  333. 
Bacon,  ix,  617. 
Bahia,  i,  426. 
Baltic,  vii,  104.  x,  161. 
Baltimore,iv,  639.  v,  106. 
Barbary,  vi,  10.  viii,  239. 
Bartholemy,  iv,  236. 
Batavia,  iv,  243.  vii,  91. 
Baum,  vi,  477. 
Bedford,  v,  503. 
Behren,ii,  179.x,  19,  179. 
Belgia,  v,  219. 
Belus,  ix,  125. 
Bemus,  vi,  337. 
Bennington,  vi,  294. 
Biron,  vii,  397,  586. 


Biscay,  b 

Black,  i,  717. 

Bland,  v,  663 

Blount,  viii,  269. 

Bologna,  ix,  541. 

Bosphorus,  i,  387. 

Boston,  v.  103,  725. 

Bothnian,  ix,  564. 

Bourbon,  iv,  240.  vii,  5, 
85.  viii,  612. 

Bovadilla,  ii,  303. 

Boyle,  ii,  304. 

Boyne,  viii,  597. 

Braddock,v,  160,173,240 

Brama,  ix,  125. 

Brazilla,  i,  396.  x,  59. 

Breyman,  vi,  388,  478. 

Bristol,  vi,  256. 

Britain,  v,  258,  422,  557, 
780.  vi,  4,  237,  265.  vii, 
55}  416,  653.  viii,   667. 

Britannia,  v,  253,  287, 
381,  494,  553y  808.  vi, 
480,  603,  689.  vii,  172, 
307,  561.  viii,  596,615, 
627.  ix,  544. 

Brooks,  vi,  560. 

Brown,  vi,  503.  viii,  637. 

Brunswick,  vi,  265.  vii. 
740 


LYDEX. 


209 


Bunker,  v,  545.  viii,  623. 
Burgoyne,    vi,    280,   350, 

364,  579,  707. 
Butler,  vii,  178. 

Caledonia,  vi,  268. 
California,  vi,  188.x,  180. 
Calisto,  i,  72. 
Calpe,  viii,  611.  ix,  423, 

477.  x,  171. 
Cambodia,  iv,  94.  x,  43. 
Cambridge,  ix,  544. 
Campbell,  vii,  363. 
Canaan,  i,   176,   182.  viii, 

677. 
Canada,  v,  125,  309. 
Canadia,  i,   755.   vi,  348, 

367,  506. 
Canaries,  x,  168. 
Capac,  ii>  415,  460,  507, 

558,  586,  599,    607.  iii, 

25,  48,    477,   541,   561, 

629,674,  778,  815. 
Carleton,  vi,  685. 
Camatic,  vii,  99. 
Carolina,  vii,  255. 
Carthage,  ix,  355. 
Caspian,  i,  638. 
Castile,  i,  3 1 . 
Catuba,  i,  386. 
Cesar,  iv,  109.   v,  391.  x, 

328. 


Champlain,v,  58^  726.  vi. 
281. 

Chaos,  ix,  47. 

Charles,  i,  547.  iv,  101.  ix, 
535. 

Charlestons,  108.vii,211. 

Charlestown,  v,  503,  543. 

Chatham,  viii,  610. 

Chaucer,  ix.  545. 

Cheesman,  v,  803. 

Chesapeak,  iv,  271,  541. 
v,  348.  vii,  459,  565. 

Chili,  x,  182. 

China,  x,  41. 

Clinton,  v,  621.  vii,  137. 

Cobb,  vii,  577. 

Coburn,  vi,  503. 

Cochabamba,  i,  426. 

Colchis,  iv,  272.  v.  693. 
viii,  130. 

Columbia,  i,  230.  v,  344, 
379,  743.  vi,  380,  587, 
695.  vii,  36,  123,  134, 
450,  734.  viii,  449. 

Columbus,  i,  51,  185,  319, 

431,504,  636.  ii,  1,  296, 

351,  449.  iv,  31,  307.  v, 

1,    25,    211,    288,    333, 

453,  471,   569,  799.  vi, 

86.  vii,   117,  415,  467, 

571.    viii,  431.    ix,  20, 

471.  x,  33,  339,495. 
S2 


210 


INDEX. 


Compo,  vi,  35  i. 
Connecticut,  v,  363. 
Cook)  x,  18. 

Copernicus,  ix,  587,  605. 
Copley,  viii,  605. 
Cornwall'^,  vii,  219,  2  54, 

278,  418,  569,  725. 
Cortez,  ii,  323,  407, 
Cosmo,  iv,  128. 
Cotopaxa,  i,  377. 
Courtiandt,  vi,  560. 
Cressy,  viii,  597. 
Crillon,  vii,  87. 
Croix,  i,  715. 
Croton,  v,  852. 
Crownpoint,  v,  249. 
Cusco,  i.  374.  ii,  403,  427, 

433.  iii,  8,  681. 
Cyclop,  i,  348.  v,  489. 
Cynthia,  i,  701.  ix,  7, 

Danbury,  v,  506. 
Danube,  v,  222.  x,  232. 
Darien,  i,  221.  x,  203. 
Darmstat,  vi,  267. 
Dartmouth,  viii,  504. 
Davidson,  vii,  268. 
Dearborn,  v,  804.  vi,  561. 

vii,  577. 
Degrasse,  vii,  471,  697. 
Deimen.  x,  22,  178. 


Dekalb,  vii,  265. 

Delaware,  i,  541.  iv,  531, 
537.v,91,337,359.vi,97, 
190,  203,  247.  vii,  41  i. 

Descartes,  ix,  611. 

Dickinson,' v,  433. 

Dodona,  vi,  324. 

Dominicans,  iv,  20 1, 

Douro,  x,  167. 

Drake,  i,  497.  x,  18. 

Drave,  ix,  563, 

Duna,  v,  683. 

Dwight,  viii,  673. 

Edward,  vi,  284.  viii,  601. 
Egypt,  ix,  397. 
Elba,  x,  161,  233. 
Eleusis,  vi,  325. 
Elk,  vii,  412. 
Elliott,  vii,  89.  viii,  612. 
Elysium,  ix,  233. 
Enceladus,  i,  559. 
England,  iv,  629. 
Erasmus,  iv,  135. 
Erie,  i,  641.  vi,  371, 
Erin,  vii,  739. 
Esopus,v,  507. 
Ethiop,  viii,  423. 
Etna,  v,  489.  vii,  542,  636. 

Euphrates,  ix,  113. 

Europa,  i,  232.  viii,  269 


211 


Europe,  i,  71,  194,  293, 
688  ii,  125.  IT,  67,  102, 
167,  193,  242,  397.  v, 
23,  215,  677,  691.  vi, 
374,  590.  vii,  )3,  101, 
381.  viii,  377,  383,496. 
ix,  447,  551.  x,  51,  61, 
139,  229. 

Eutaw,  vii,  3 15. 

Euxine,  viii,  1 14. 

Fairfield,  v,  504. 
Falmouth,  v,  499. 
Fayette,  v,  681.  vii,  594. 
Ferdinand,  i,  37. 
Finland,  ix,  477. 
Flatbush,  v,  823. 
Fleury,  vii,  178. 
Floridia,  i,  773.  v,  36. 
France,  v,  164,  258.  vii, 

61,79,94,  384,  592. 
Francis,  i,  720.  iv,  106.  vi, 

498. 
Franklin,  v,  425.  viii,  551. 
Frazer,  vi,  395,  413,  479, 

487. 
Frederic,  iv,  157. 


Gama,  i,  488. 
Gambia,  x,  166. 
Ganges,  i,  353.  iv,  93.  ix, 

114,  258. 
Garonne,  v,  683. 
Gasca,  iv,  27. 
Gates,  v,  620.  vi,  337,  563. 

vii,  267. 
Gaul,  iv,  106.  v,  124,239, 

254,  681.  vii,  457.   ix, 

536.  x,   !63. 
George,  vi,  285. 
Gei  mania,  ix,  542. 
Gloster,  vii,  419,  587, 
Godfrey,  viii,  582. 
Gothard,  v,  661. 
Gottinge,  ix,  543. 
Graves,  vii,  469. 
Greece,  ii,  145.  v,  694.  vi, 

318,  595.  viii,  96,    110. 

ix,  356,  368,  375,  386, 

627. 
Greene,  v,  599.  vii,  27 1: 

285,  321,371. 
Gregory,  vii,  269. 
Grenada,  i,  791. 
Groton,  v,  504. 


Gaine,  vii,  377.  Hagar,  ix,  560. 

Gallia,  iv,  233.  v,  149.  vii,     Halle,  ix,  543. 
3,  8*.  Hamilton,  vii,  579. 


212 


INDEX. 


Hampton,  vii,  377 

Hancock,  v,  456. 

Hanniel,  viii,  679. 

Hanse,  ix,  5  65. 

Harlem,  v,  823. 

Hartford  i,  543.  vii,  409. 

Harvard,  viii,  500. 

Hatteras,  iv,  267. 

Heartly,  vi,  425,  620. 

Heath,  v,  611. 

Hellespont,  ii,  149.  vi, 
311.  ix,  524. 

Hell  gate,  v,  812. 

Hemodia,  i,  352. 

Henry,  iv,  169.  v,  431. 

Herkimer,  vi,  342,  505, 
523,   533. 

Hermes,  ix,  392. 

Herschel,  ix,  601. 

Hesper,  i,  147,  185,473, 
539.  ii,  2,  32,  213,  376, 
457.  iv,  31.  v,  25,  453. 
vi,  79.  77,  200,  209, 
232.  vii,  9.  viii,  192, 
20  ,  459.  ix,  1,  309.  x, 
1,79,  627 

Hesperia,  i,  229.  ii,  503. 
iv,    321.  v,  33.  561.  vi, 
177,   245.  vii,  22,  334,  ' 
457.  viii,  433.  x,  20. 

Hessia,  vi,  266.  vii,  741. 


Hibernia,  x,  164. 
Hispania,  x,  165. 
Holland,  vi,    i  1.  vii,  94. 
Homer,  iv,  189.  ix,  126. 
Hosmer,  v,  447. 
Howard,  iv,  247. 
Howe,  v,  815.  vi,  31,   87. 

vii,  127,  137. 
Hudson,  i,  338,  542,  749, 

v,59,99,362.  vi,  93,295, 

460.  vii,  133,  171,  410. 

x,   216. 
Hull,  vi,  560.  vii,  177. 
Humphreys,  viii,  685. 
Hungaria,  iv,  120. 
Huron,    i,    649.   vi,    269, 

530,  540. 
Hyder,  vii,  97. 
Hymen,  vi.  443,  458. 

Iberia,  i,  6. 

Ilion,  ii,  209.  vi,592.  ix,  122. 
Illinois,  i,  718. 
India,  i,460,  486.  ix,257, 

423. 
Indostan,  vii,  95.  x,  44. 
Indus,  i,  353.  iv,  93. 
Inquisition,  iv,  203.  viii* 

533. 
Iris,  i,  647. 
Iroquois,  vi,  372. 


LXDEX. 


2lo 


Isabella,   i,    1 
Ista,  i,  382. 
Ithacus,  vii,  582. 

Jackson,  vii,  377. 
Jacob,  i,  172.  viii,  678. 
James,  i,  518.  v,  107.  vii, 

439.  viii,   502. 
Jason,  iv,  273.  viii,  115. 
Java,  vi,    12. 
Jay,  v,  435. 
Jefferson,  v,  457. 
Jersey,    vi,    88,   233.    vii, 

130. 
Jerusalem,  ii,  252. 
John,  x,  500. 
Johnson,  vi,  389,  511,526, 

607. 
Jove,  i,  234,  349.  viii,  98, 

314.  ix,  299,  426,  599. 

Kaatskill,  i,  34 1 .  v,  60. 

Kenhawa,  viii,  412. 

Kenebec,  i,  549.  v,  57. 

Kepler,  ix,  595. 

Kiel,  ix,  543. 

Knox,  v,  665.  vii,  574. 

Kosciusko,  v,  682.  vi,  557. 

Lahogue,  viii,  597. 
Lama,  ix,  249. 


Langdon,  v,  432. 
Las  Casas,  iv,  17. 
Laud,  iv,  629. 
Laurence,     i,    314,    5  52, 

567,    640.    v,    35,     123, 

264,  496,  753.  vi,  261. 
Laurens,  v,  436,  624.  vii, 

577. 
Lear,  viii,  599. 
Leda,  v,  693. 
Lee,  vii,  377. 
Leo,  iv,  128. 
Leyden,  ix,  543. 
Lima,  i,  285. 
Lincoln,  v,   607.  vi,   339, 

483,  493.  vii,  210,  239, 

573, 769. 
Litchfield,  vii,  409. 
Livingston,  v,  435. 
Lombards,  ix,  534. 
Lorenzo,  iv,  124. 
Louisiana,  v,  129. 
Loyola,  iv,  173. 
Lucinda,  vi,  427,  438,  444, 

617,  642,  644,  660. 
Luther,  iv,  1 47. 

Macdougal,  v,  621. 
Macedon,  vi,  315. 
Mackensie,  x,  59,  219 
Macpherson,  v,  S03 


214 


INDEX. 


Madagascar,  i,  487. 
Madera,  i,  391. 
Magellan,  i,  446. 
Maine,  i,  331. 
Manhattan,   v,    811.   viii, 

503. 
Marathon,  ix,  366. 
Maragnon,  i,  366,  407. 
Marion,  v,  623,  vii,  373. 
Mary,  iv,  228,  630. 
Mason,  v,  431. 
Mecca,  ix,  278. 
Medea,  iv,  281. 
Meigs,  v,  804.  vii,  178. 
Melancthon,  iv,  161. 
Memphis,  ix,    123,  335, 

659. 
Mercer,  v,  613.  vi,  249. 
Mexic,  i,  783.  ii,  253. 
Michael,  v,  279. 
Michigan,  i,  650. 
Mifflin,  v,  614. 
Minorca,  vii,  88. 
Minos,  ix,  299. 
Missisippi,  i,  679.  v,  128. 

viii,  415.  x,  223. 
Missouri,  i,  722.  vi,  189. 

x,  216. 
Mobile,  i,  313. 
Mohawk,    vi,    294,    370, 

651,653.x,  213. 
Moine,  i,  720. 


Moloch,  vi,  9. 
Monmouth,  v,    360.    vii, 

135,  170. 
Monongahela,  v,  166,  594. 
Montezuma,  ii,  268,  337. 
Montgomery,  v,  604,  747, 

775,  798.  vi,  350.  viii, 

59,  622. 
Morgan,  v,  626,  804.  vi, 

559.  vii,  266. 
Moultrie,  v,  625. 
Moxoe,  i,  425.  x,  207. 
Moylan,  v,  663. 
Mystic,  i,  547. 

Napo,  i,  378. 
Narraganset,  v,  365. 
Nash,  v,  435.  vii,  123. 
Negro,  i,  387. 
Neister,  x,  233. 
Nelson,  vii5  574. 
Nereids,  i,  712. 
Nevilcross,  viii,  597. 
Newport,  v,  104.  vii,  403. 
Newton,  ix,  596. 
Newyork,  v,  99,  507,  807. 

vi,  29.  vii,  169. 
Niagara,  i,  643. 
Nile,  i,  380.  viii,  421.  ix, 

114,  287,  382,  524.  X, 

172,  555. 
Nineveh,  ix,  335. 


fNDEX. 


2U 


Ninus,  ix,  340. 

Norfolk,  v,  508.  vii,  441. 

Norwalk,  v,  505. 

Obi,  x,  231. 

Oconee,  v,  358. 

Oder,  x,  233. 

Odin,'ix,  300. 

Oella,  ii,  416,   492,   575, 

586,   606.  iii,  698,  858. 
Ohio,  i,  716.  v,  133. 
Olympus,  vi,  320.  x,  256. 
Ontario,    i,    314,    637.    v, 

156.  vi,  368. 
Orinoco,  i,  246,  383. 
Orpheus,  viii,  119. 
Ossa,  vi,  321. 
Oswego,  v,  155. 
Ovando,  i,  466.  ii,  304. 
Oxonia,  ix,  544. 

Palfrey,  i,  627. 
Palmyra,  ix,  389. 
Pambamarca,  i,  375.  viii, 

293. 
Pamlico,  v,  352. 
Pandora,  viii,  359. 
Paraguay,  i,  436.  iii,  321. 

iv,  183 
Paria,  i,  248.  ii,  98. 
Pastaza,  i,  375. 


Patapsco,  i,  521.  v,   105. 
Patmos,  ii,  246. 
Pavia,  iv,  109. 
Peekskill,  vii,  175. 
Peleus,  vi,  597. 
Pelides,  vi,  591. 
Pelion,  vi,  320. 
Pendleton,  v,  431. 
Penn,  iv,  640.  v,  92,  338. 

viii,  501. 
Pennsylvania,  vii,  121. 
Pensacola,  v,  310. 
Peru,   i,  254.  ii,   400.  x« 

206. 
Peruvia,  ii,  491.  iii,   856. 
Peter,  i,  7)4. 
Pharaoh,  ix,  128. 
Phenecia,  i,  231. 
Philip,  iv,  225. 
Philips,  vi,  383,  577.  vii 

282. 
Phlegethon,  vii,  512. 
Pickins,  vii,  374. 
Pinckney,  vii,  377, 
Piscateway,  i,  548, 
Pisgah,  i,  175,  181. 
Pisuerga,  i,  34. 
Pizarro,  ii,  410. 
Plata,  i,  438.  k,  18£ 
Plutus,  vi,  22 
Plymouth,  iv,  63" 


216 


INDEX. 


P     ihontas,  h\  285. 
Pohatan,  iv,  501. 

Pomona,  i,  791. 
Pompey,  x,  328. 
Pontic,  x,  52. 
Pontus,  x,  172. 
Potcsi,  i,  437. 
Potowmak,  i,  524.  iv,  562. 

vii,  443. 
Poweii.  vi,  569. 
Princeton,  vi,  24 1 .  viii,  500. 
Prometheus,   i,    347.    iv, 

449,  473.  v,  675. 
Proteus,  ix,  621.  x,  306. 
Purus,  i,  390. 
Putnam,  v,  563,  615.  viii, 

624. 
Pyrenees,  i,  193. 
Pythian,  vi,  323. 

Quebec,  v,  153,  266,  756. 

viii,  620. 
Quito,  i,  254.  ii,  401,  431, 

461. 

Raleigh,  iv,  252,  524. 
Randolph,  v,  406. 
Ruppuhunok,  i,  520. 
R  wdon,  vii,  277. 
Re-,  ling,  v,  505. 
Regulus,  viii,  595, 


Reidesel,  vi,  317,  573. 

&1.X,  162, 324. 
Rhodi  viii,  506. 

Rhone,  i,  368. 
Richmond,    v,     107.   vii, 

440. 

field,  vi,  351, 
Rittenhouse,  viii,  569. 
Roanoke,  v,  349. 
Rocha,  iii,  29,    115,   199, 

707,  716,754,  796. 
Rochambeau,  vii,  389. 
Rodney,  v,  432. 
Rome,  ii,  207.  v,  389.  viiif 

369,  376.  ix,  398,  427, 

659. 
Rouge,  i,  720. 
Rubicon,  v,  390. 
Rush,  v,  432. 
Russia,  x,  50. 
Rutledge,  v,  436. 

Salem,  x,   506. 
Sampson,  ix,  613. 
Santee,  v,  353. 
Saratoga,  vi,  459. 
Sarmatia,  v,  682. 
Savanna,  v,  357.  vii,  20V. 
Scammel,     vi,     562.    vii. 

575,  707. 
Schuylkill,  vii,  412. 


INDEX. 


217 


Seleucia,  ix,  387. 
Senegal,  x,  I  66. 
Semiramis,  v,  96. 
Sheldon,  v,  663. 
Shetland,  i,  586. 
Siam,  x,  43. 
Sicilia,  i,  560. 
Silly,  vi,   562. 
Sinclair,  v,  614.  vi,  289. 
Slave,  v,  310.  x,  221. 
Smalhvood,  vii,  266. 
Solyman,  iv,  1 17. 
South  Sea,  iv,  346. 
Spain,  i,  40,   195.  iv,  87, 

99,  201,  247.  vi,  8.  vii, 

86,94.  ix,  533. 
Sparta,  ii,  208.  vi,  328. 
Specht,  vi,  388,  573. 
Starke,  vi,  341,473,  484. 
Steuben,  v,  703. 
Stillwater,  vi,  297. 
Stirling,  v,  619,824. 
Stonypoint,  vii,  207. 
Stuart,  vii,  309.  viii,  637. 
Sullivan,  v,  620,  824. 
Sumner,  vii,  374. 
Sumter,  v,  625.  vii,  373. 
Superior,  i,  652.  x,  217. 
Susan,  i,  629. 
Susquehanna,  i,  522, 
Syracuse,  ix,  355. 


Tago,  iv,  89.  x,  167. 
Tarleton,  vii,  279,  585. 
Tartaria,  ii,  187.  x,  2a 
Taurus,  i,  352. 
Taylor,  viii,  636. 
Tell,  v,  635. 
1  Tempe,  vi,  322. 
Texel,  x,  162. 
Thebes,  vi,  316.  ix,  116, 

335. 
Thessalia,  vi,  316. 
Thetis,  i,  711. 
Thompson,  v,  434. 
Thorn,  ix,  575. 
Thrace,  vi,  310,  316. 
Tiber,  ix,  525. 
Tibet,  x,  41. 
Ticonderoga,  vi,  283. 
Tigris,  i,  381. 
Tilghman,  vii,  577. 
Titan,  viii,  305,  319.  x. 

258. 
Tobago,  vii,  487. 
Toconnok,  v,  361. 
Tombut,  ii,  98. 
Topayo,  i,  396. 
Trenton,  vi,  93,  236. 
Trinacria,v,  488. 
Trophonius,  vi,  226. 
Troy,  vi,  598. 
Trumbull,  viii;  619.  66: 


218 


INDEX . 


Tuscan,  iv,  123.  ix,  597. 
Tyre,     ii,     145,    209.  ix, 
355,  659. 

Ucayla,  i/S73. 
Up  sal,  ix,  543. 
Uri,  v,  656. 

Valladolid,  i,  33. 
Valois,  iv,  239. 
Valverde,  iv,  23. 
Vancouvre,  x,  21. 
Venice,  iv,  76. 
Venus,  ix,  8. 
Vernon,  vii,  444. 
Viominil,  vii,  393,  593. 
Virginia,  i,  511.  iv,  535. 

vii,  295,  420,  563. 
Volga,  x,  231. 

Wabash,  v,  127. 

Warren,  v,  573.  vii,  709. 
viii,  625. 

Washington,  v,  241,  415, 
587,  702,  717,  825.  vi, 
89,  235,  248.  vii,  151, 
163,299,375,  391,455, 
567,  681,  755.   ■ 


Wayne,  v,  617.  vii,  179. 
West,  viii,  587. 
White,  i,  333,  340. 
Williams,  vii,  363. 
Williamson,  vii,  269. 
Wisconsin,  i,  714. 
Wittemburgh,  iv,  159.    - 
Wolcott,  v,  441. 
Wolfe,  v,  257,  263,  290. 

756,  799.  viii,  596. 
Wolsey,  iv,  111. 
Wooster,  v,  612. 
Wright,  viii,  647. 
Wythe,  v,  431. 
Xaraya,  i,  435.  iii,  322. 
Xerxes,  vi,  309. 
Ximenes,  iv,  97. 

Yale,  viii,  500: 
Yazoo,  i,  717. 
York,i,  5 17.  vii,  4 19,  566, 
627. 

Zamor,  iii,  439,  516,  585, 

651,  765,790,844. 
Zembla,  x,  178. 
Zingus,  i,  3^3. 


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